This ``rejuvenated'' empowerment focus on cooperatives was similar to the Afrikaner community's economic empowerment campaign during the early years of the 20th century. It is expected that this study initiative will further contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding the cooperatives' role in the country's and the world's economy.
KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
He warns that this attitude towards co-operatives may adversely affect the study and the role of co-operatives in the economy with the new breed of business students having no interest in and understanding of the concept of co-operatives. What inspired the leadership (politicians) to adopt cooperatives as an alternative socio-economic re-engineering program.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Fourteen (14) civil servants who manage the cooperative program in the department were also requested to participate by responding to a set of questions. Some Kenyan academics were also recruited by the University of Zululand to help develop a curriculum for the study of cooperatives in the province.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY PROJECT
While many people have embraced cooperatives with enthusiasm, their responses to this survey lacked enthusiasm. In the process, changes could have occurred in the cooperatives' program - which may create some factual gaps in relation to the authenticity of the information shared in this project.
CONCLUSION
In the questionnaires it was not necessary to clarify the meaning of the question for the individual respondents. Considering that independent thoughts and actions of members of cooperatives could cause a lack of coordination, a possible failure could be expected.
CHAPTER TWO
INTRODUCTION
This will allow a better understanding of what the current role of cooperatives is in the socio-economic environment, and of their role in the process of protecting poor members of society from poverty and other social ills such as unemployment. This approach will further provide the backdrop for the subsequent Chapter Three, which will closely examine and discuss the findings of the research project undertaken to identify the impacts and barriers experienced in promoting cooperatives in KwaZulu-Natal.
GENERAL HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVES
Depending on the sector in which the company operates, the commercial part of the cooperatives exposes them to global transactions. Dobrohoczki further describes cooperatives as instruments for promoting social cohesion compared to general profit-driven business organizations.
KWAZULU-NATAL EMBRACING CO-OPERATIVES – RESPONSE TO NATIONAL CALL
The initial R110 million allocated to kick-start the co-operative "revolution" in the province was not enough considering the desperate unemployment situation on the ground. The existence of other players with roles in the development and implementation of the cooperative program can further serve as an additional gauge to weigh the Department's organizational ability to adapt to external influences.
CO-OPERATIVES & SMMES – COMPLIMENTARY OR DUPLICATIONS
Cooperatives were then prioritized to stimulate economic activity, particularly in poverty-stricken communities. This statement reminds us of the way in which the campaign for the promotion of cooperatives was set in motion. The confusion according to Satgar and Williams (2008) lies in the government's use of cooperatives as a tool to accelerate black economic empowerment as part of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003.
This claim gives some insight into the real independence of cooperatives compared to other forms of business.
CONCLUSION
This reduces the autonomy of the cooperatives and their ability to determine their destiny in terms of decisions about the scope of their activities and continuous training of skills to sustain themselves in accordance with the accrual of benefits for the members and immediate communities. The shortcomings often found in the establishment and operation of cooperative businesses with regard to adhering to the basic principles of cooperatives are one of the common features of cooperative failure. It therefore became imperative that, before delving deeper into this study, a brief reminder be given of a common list of co-operative principles, as universally prescribed by the International Co-operatives Alliance, as there is a general concern that the principles of co-operatives are complied with. There is no intervention, even by governments under the pretext of providing aid.
Given that national and provincial governments have provided the impetus for the development and promotion of cooperatives, the possibility that their involvement may have negative consequences for cooperative development should not be underestimated, as it is often argued that the role of government should be to provide an enabling environment for cooperatives to flourish. by developing and implementing business-friendly policies and legislative frameworks.
CHAPTER THREE
- INTRODUCTION
- BALANCING POSITIVE & DETRIMENTAL STATE INTERFERENCE IN CO-OPERATIVES
- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- COMBINING LITERATURE REFERENCE & COLLECTED DATA
- CONCLUSION
The challenge was in distributing the questionnaires, especially to the cooperatives, as this depended on the support of officials working with cooperatives in all eleven districts of the province. The cooperatives' program district coordinators were the key partners in the process of facilitating the cooperatives' responses to questionnaires. In addition, 14 government officials, mainly those working in the cooperative program, were included in the study and only 8 completed and returned the questionnaires.
See Table 4), while only 2 of the 4 targeted cooperatives had experts or specialists participate in the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
INTRODUCTION
DUALITY OF CO-OPERATIVES
Some relate to the way in which the program was implemented, while others relate to possible different individual expectations of the benefits to be gained and distributed for participation in cooperative business. Some of the causes of failure appear to be universal, as they have been identified in other countries as key weaknesses in the life of the cooperative sector worldwide. Also in 2009, the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism released a report that looked broadly at its SMME and cooperative program, which was run by McIntosh Xaba & Associates.
Ithala acts as a holding company for the provincial government's financing of the cooperative program.
CATEGORIES OF RESEARCHED RESPONDENTS
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO INCREASE THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVES IN THE PROVINCE'S ECONOMY. Catering and hospitality 27% The catering service was able to confirm the power of cooperatives in the school nutrition program. WHAT DO YOU THINK MAY BE THE MAIN CAUSE OF COOPERATIVES' DIFFICULT TO SURVIVE?
The officials were open about the mistakes made in the process of implementing the cooperative program.
CONCLUSION
This suggests that one of the key ingredients for a successful cooperative movement that has a positive impact on the province and the country's socio-economic landscape would be investment in the development of specialist skills for cooperatives. The proposed cooperative colleges and the stimulation of a general interest in developing reference material in the field of cooperatives to inform the knowledge community could be one of the solutions. Without the right skills and a general entrepreneurial culture, government institutional support would remain ineffective and the majority of cooperatives will continue to die prematurely.
But as most of the respondents acknowledged, the challenges experienced can be turned into lessons to build a stronger entrepreneurial cooperative culture that is essential to address the current socio-economic inequalities.
CHAPTER FIVE
INTRODUCTION
This last chapter is therefore about providing a brief summary of the overall study and it will attempt to share possible recommendations that can be considered to take the cooperative program forward in KwaZulu-Natal and in the country. However, it must be emphasized that this was a difficult assignment due to various factors including limited access to documented researched information on cooperatives. The controversies related to the alleged failure of the cooperative program to achieve its primary objective of serving as a springboard for sustainable socio-economic development exacerbated the situation as some respondents, especially cooperatives themselves, were not so enthusiastic about participating to the study room.
We hope that future efforts will define a single aspect of the field of cooperatives and localize it in such a way as to produce quality reference data that can inform specialist researchers in this area of economics.
BRIEF RESEARCH BACKGROUND
The breadth of the researched topic further contributed to the challenge of completing this study project. Development policy that was formulated the previous year - and further strengthened by the establishment of institutional support mechanisms within the Department of Trade and Industry such as the Cooperatives Incentive Scheme (CIS). But the exercise was compromised by numerous variables, including a lack of capacity to transform all the institutional support frameworks into tangible actions that could be exposed to regular and rigorous monitoring and review to influence new policy approaches for improvement.
SOME OF THE KEY FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The diversity of types and sizes increases the possibility that cooperatives will make a significant contribution to the country's economy. Kirianki M'Imanyara, one of the independent respondents, argues that cooperatives are suitable in almost all sectors. However, exceptions were made in relation to co-operatives, as the provincial government committed itself to being the center of consumption of goods and services provided by co-operatives.
This can be interpreted as an equivalent to the racial prejudice of the apartheid government which focused its support on white agricultural cooperatives.
CONCLUSIONS
Social Cohesion Through Market Democratization - (Center for Studiet af Kooperativer – University of Saskatchewan). The Passion of the People: Successful Co-operatives Experiences in Africa - (Co-operative & Policy Alternative Center - Johannesburg),. Co-operative Membership: Issues and Challenges - (Center for the Study of Co-operatives – University of Saskatchewan).
New Strategies for Mobilizing Capital in Agricultural Service Cooperatives - (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Rome),.
