Pretoria - The Department of Social Development and its agencies will in the current financial year spend over R30 million procuring goods from community-based cooperatives.
Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini said the department’s contribution to the accelerated radical socio-economic transformation – the ‘major push forward’ President Jacob Zuma spoke of in his 2015 State of the Nation Address, will partly be made through the promotion of cooperatives.
“Our approach to contribute to radical socio-economic transformation leverages on social assistance as well as food and nutrition security programmes,” said Minister Dlamini.
In line with this, the department has set aside almost R12 million for procuring food for its social relief of distress programme from cooperatives.
Sewing cooperatives can also expect nearly R21 million to be spent by the department procuring school uniform for disadvantaged children as part of the social relief of distress programme.
During the first quarter of the 2015/16 financial year, 64 cooperatives that provide catering and sewing services have benefited through procurement to the value of R3 700 000, nationally. A further 72 food producing cooperatives have benefited to the tune of R1 323 517.
Minister Dlamini highlighted that this is money government has put into the hands of poor black people, who so far have been excluded from the mainstream economy.
“This shows that preferential procurement can break our people out of the cycle of poverty by promoting greater participation by the poor in the economy and creating sustainable employment opportunities,” explained Minister Dlamini.
She added that the National Development Agency (NDA) will continue to educate and create awareness in communities on the strength and socio-economic value of cooperatives in order to promote their organic emergence and increased participation, particularly of young people and women.
“Over and above education, the NDA will provide capacity building, which includes access to resources, quality assurance, specialist training, governance and management support, and conflict management and skills development programmes.”
Among the cooperatives already supported by NDA include Bana ba Kgwale cooperative, which received R1 650 600 funding from the agency.
A group of unemployed men and women produces vegetables in open fields under drip irrigation on 22 hectares of tribal land.
All the produce has a guaranteed market at Pick ‘n Pay. The first and the second grade produce are sold to the fresh produce markets in Tshwane, Johannesburg and Springs.
The NDA has also assisted the Letsema le Thata Ka Beng cooperative in Monakato with R800 000 grant.
The cooperative of 10 unemployed local women is involved in poultry and vegetable farming.
Last week, the department launched its cooperative programme at the Popo Molefe informal settlement in Rustenburg.
The programme aims to help people especially women from poor communities establish income generating cooperatives as a way of fighting poverty and unemployment. – SAnews.gov.za
