Kathmandu, June 12
Minister for Home Affairs
Bal Krishna Khand has said that the cooperative sector has a role to play in mobilising
resources from savings. He said that the cooperative sector has played an
important role in organising the citizens, increasing their capacity, making
them owners of property and establishing access to resources.
Inaugurating the 4th
SACOS Summit organised by Nepal Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperative
Union Ltd. (NEFSCUN) and co-organised by the Ministry of Land Management,
Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation on Sunday, Minister Khand said that
cooperatives have a role in changing the lives of citizens.
He urged all the
cooperative workers to increase the national production by investing the
savings of the cooperative sector in the productive sector. "Cooperatives
have done what the state could not do. Cooperatives have also played a role in
empowering sisters and mothers in the remote areas and helping improve the home
and society," he said.
He also clarified
that the government is positive towards the cooperative movement
Speaking on the
occasion, Registrar of the Department of Cooperatives Rudra Prasad Pandit said
that the complaints of wrongdoings committed by the cooperatives have been
increasing recently. He urged the cooperatives not to invest in unproductive
sectors by charging higher interest rates and charging higher service fees.
He also said that it
would not be good for the cooperatives to consider themselves as banks and practice
like banks. "One co-operative should not defame all co-operatives,"
he said. Pandit urged to implement the 35-point integrated directive recently
issued by the Department of Cooperatives.
He also opined that
the cooperative movement and the government should move forward in
coordination.
Stating that data is
needed to formulate policies and plans of cooperatives, he urged all
cooperatives to be involved in COPOMIS. Out of 30,000 cooperatives, the
department has received the details of only 26 per cent of them.
Likewise, President
of the National Cooperatives Federation of Nepal Minraj Kadel said that the
government has increased the income tax rate of cooperatives. He drew the
attention of the Home Minister to the issue. He urged the government to maintain
the old rate of income tax. He also demanded a separate savings and loan act
for the regulation of savings and credit cooperatives.
NEFSCUN chairman
Paritosh Poudyal pledged to address the issues of financial viability,
stability and well-being created by the COVID-19 epidemic. He also drew the
attention of Minister Khand and other stakeholders to the need to make some of
its legal provisions campaign-friendly even though the stabilisation fund for
savings and loan cooperatives came into operation after a long debate.
Poudyal opined that
there is a need for a separate SACOS Act along with the Credit Information Centre
and the Debt Recovery Tribunal.
The 4th SACOS Summit
has started in Kathmandu from today. The two-day event is attended by about 700
savings and loan cooperative workers from across the country.
The seminar will be
conducted in 10 sessions with two groupings and eight breakouts.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 13 June 2022.
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