Cooperative campaigners call for motivating good performers and booking wrongdoers

Kathmandu, March 16: Cooperative campaigners of Nepal have suggested to the stakeholders not to undermine the cooperative sector – the spectacular pillar of the economy – being operated in consistent with its norms and values. At a time when the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has put efforts to resolve the problems surfaced in savings and credit cooperative sector, they recommended the decision-takers not to put all cooperatives in a single basket.

At a discussion organized here on Wednesday regarding cooperatives, Ministry Secretary Dr Damodar Regmi said a directive was already issued to the Cooperative Solution Committee to make necessary arrangement for the embattled cooperatives to immediately return savings of the depositors. As informed, the committee has so far had the cooperatives returned Rs 450 million to the depositors and is also investigating records of over 1,000 cooperatives. Secretary Regmi further informed that the Department of Cooperatives has made arrangement for returning deposited amount to the clients by holding passport and bank accounts of cooperative operators for working against its established norms and values.

He urged the office-bearers of the National Cooperatives Federation to help incentivize the cooperatives having good performance and bring the wrongdoers to action. The ministry has sent this circular to all district associations through the federation calling for playing constructive role from the grassroots for the same. National Cooperatives Federation Chair Minraj Kandel suggested to the district-based office-bearers not to motivate the cooperatives involved in wrongdoing and encourage the good performers.

Cooperatives management committee chair Kashiraj Dahal drew the government’s attention to listen to the problems of depositors and resolve their problems. He also asked the government to impart a message that there was a mechanism to rescue the depositors in troubled times. Department’s Registrar Namaraj Ghimire said the Department was actively engaged in bringing the faulty cooperatives to book. On the occasion, other speakers underlined the need of collective commitment to resolve the problems resulted in from the wrong actions of some operators.