President Jacob Zuma will on Saturday, 26 August 2017, officially open the International Cooperatives Day in Bloemfontein. The celebration aim to acknowledge and celebrate the role of cooperatives in economic, social and cultural development in South Africa. 

The celebrations will take place under the theme “Deepening Economic Transformation through a Co-operative Development in Southern Africa”, which is in line with government’s programme of radical socioeconomic transformation that aim to eradicate long standing triple challenge of unemployment, inequality and poverty in the country. 

The International Cooperatives Day, which is organised by the Department Small Business Development which is responsible for funding of cooperatives businesses, will also provide a platform for various stakeholders to share practical ideas on how the cooperatives sector can be supported and developed into a force of economic and social inclusion. The two day event will further be used to identify opportunities that can be seized to promote the development of cooperatives.

The government sees cooperatives as vehicles for economic development, democratic economic participation and redistribution of wealth. 

Through the Department of Small Business Development, government has established the Co-operative Incentive Scheme (CIS) which is a 100% grant for registered primary co-operatives (a primary co-operative consists of five or more members). The objective of the CIS is to improve the viability and competitiveness of co-operative enterprises by lowering their cost of doing business through an incentive that supports Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.

The details of the event are as follows: 

Date: Saturday, 26 August 2017
Time: 09h00 
Venue: Old Grey Sports Centre, Bloemfontein, Free State

Members of the media should send their names and ID/Passport numbers to Cornelius Monama on 060 960 3158 or CMonama@dsbd.gov.za or Proffesor Ndawonde on 0798912782 or proffesor@presidency.gov.za. Members of the media are also requested to present their valid press cards at the point of entry to access the venue.