THE CO-OPERATIVES DEPARTMENT - A BRIEF HISTORY

Where is that? What do you do? How much money can I get from you? Do you belong to the League? These are some of the questions that staff of the Department are asked from time to time and from some very unlikely sources.

The Co-operatives Department is one of the agencies of the Ministry of Commerce, Consumer Affairs & Business Development and its function is to administer the Co-operative Societies Act; the Friendly Societies Act; and the Building Societies Act; and the Industrial and Provident Societies Act. The latter two (2) Acts are of limited significance.

The first Co-operative Societies Act was passed in response to the call for the establishment of co-operatives, the first of which had already come into existence. This was the Shamrock, which has been in existence for over fifty (50) years.

The first society to be registered under the Act was St. Barnabas Co-operative Marketing Society Limited on May 09, 1952. At that time the Ministry of Agriculture and Science had responsibility for co-operatives and the Director of Agriculture was also the Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

In 1961, a separate Co-operatives Division with a technical staff comprising one (1) Registrar and three (3) Co-operatives Officers was set up under the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries, and its functions were expanded by the transfer of responsibility from the Supreme Court for friendly societies; building societies; and industrial and provident societies.

In 1966, the Division was transferred to the Ministry of Trade until 1971, when it transferred back to the Ministry of Agriculture. It remained there until 1985, when it was placed again under the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Commerce.

In 1989, the Department was restructured in preparation for the new demands that were anticipated under the new Co-operative Societies Act that would soon become a reality. The Act was passed in August 1990, but was not proclaimed until March 15, 1993. In the meantime, the staff had been increased from seven (7) to fourteen (14), inclusive of technical and support persons.

Section 183 of the Co-operative Societies Act, Cap. 378A, summarizes the role of the Registrar, viz:

"organizing, carrying out and encouraging measures for the development of co-operative societies……"

Mission Statement

The Co-operatives Department will be a focused, dynamic and proactive organization, which regulates the Co-operative Movement and examines the affairs of all societies to ensure their safety and soundness.

CO-OPERATIVES DEPARTMENT MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION CHARTREGISTRAR (1)
DEPUTY REGISTRAR (1)
SENIOR CO-OPERATIVES OFFICER (1)
CO-OPERATIVES OFFICERS I & II (6)
CLERICAL OFFICERS (2)		STENOGRAPHER/TYPISTS (2)
MAID (1)

In order to fulfill its mission, the Department performs many functions which include:

registration of societies;
inspection of the operations of societies;
conducting seminars and participating in educational activities;
advising individuals and groups;
attending the meetings of societies;
resolving complaints and disputes;
conducting arbitration hearings; and
producing financial reports.

Over the past two (2) years, considerable effort has been directed towards ensuring that credit unions put their affairs in order by keeping their books up-to-date, holding their annual general meetings within the prescribed time and being more accountable for their activities.

Recently, performance standards have been introduced by means of a system called PEARLS, which is the acronym for Performance, Earnings, Asset quality, Rate of growth, Liquidity and Structure. The objective of Pearls is the promotion of safety and soundness, which will in turn produce confidence in the viability of credit unions.

The Co-operatives Department has been very cognizant of the need for productivity, reform and the provision of quality service, hence, the technical staff has been deployed so as to support this thrust. Because credit unions have shown significant improvement in their operations, it has become possible to divert more resources to the other co-operatives. These co-operatives have the potential to generate employment, be exporters of produce and be earners of foreign exchange, but they tend to be undercapitalized and lacking in management skills. This is now new, but it presents a particular challenge, which needs to be tackled with urgency.

The staff of the Co-operatives Department desires that all societies become viable, vibrant, efficient and accountable, and will assist them so that they can become self-sustainable. A co-operative is a business organization and must function as such, but some societies have given co-operatives a bad name and that must change.