Cooperatives opting for merger
KATHMANDU, June 10:
More cooperatives are planning to go to merger to reduce operating cost and offer better services to members.
Eight saving and credit cooperatives have merged in the last six months and the government is also in a mood to promote merger among cooperatives.
“Six cooperatives of Morang districts merged last week and became three, said under-secretary at Department of Cooperatives Bishnu Prasad Ghimire.
“It is a good indication for the financial health of cooperatives,” he said, adding that the department is offering incentives to promote merger.
According to Division Cooperatives Office Biratnagar, Ramailo and Suryodaya cooperatives of Bayarban-8 merged a week ago followed by merger of Biratnagar-16 based Rashi and Nepal, and Letang-8 based Mahila Jagaran and Jan Chahana.
Merger in cooperatives sector started in January as Yatu Ganesh Cooperatives and Siddhi Ganesh Cooperative of Bhaktapur merged together. The department is planning to provide technical and financial support for the merger from next fiscal year. “We already have merger policy but we are planning to give some incentives to promote merger,” he said. However, modalities of incentives are not decided yet.
The department is promoting merger to reduce their numbers to half. Currently, around 10,326 saving and credit cooperatives are in operation across the country and half of them are in urban areas. Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur – alone has 40 per cent of the total.
According to the department, saving and credit cooperatives have Rs 97.49 billion deposit from poor and marginalised section of population, while Rs 79.63 billion has been invested from street shops to real estate. Saving and credit cooperatives are mobilising billions of rupees from public saving without strong monitoring. “We are promoting merger to make it easier to monitor,” he said, adding that the country doesnot need 22,239 cooperatives in a small economy.
About 6,000 cooperatives are sufficient for Nepal unless they are distributed equally in all the regions,” he said adding that one multipurpose cooperative in a VDC can serve thousands of people. About a dozen cooperatives are sufficient for municipal areas and two-three dozen in sub-metropolis and metropolis.
National Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperative Unions — an umbrella organisation of saving and credit cooperatives — also supported the voluntary merger. “We do not have any objection to promote voluntary merger,” chairperson of the Federation Min Raj Kandel, said, adding that it should not be forceful.
Merger will reduce their expenses,” he said, adding that good implementation of merger policy will also help reduce irregularities.
Source: THT
More cooperatives are planning to go to merger to reduce operating cost and offer better services to members.
Eight saving and credit cooperatives have merged in the last six months and the government is also in a mood to promote merger among cooperatives.
“Six cooperatives of Morang districts merged last week and became three, said under-secretary at Department of Cooperatives Bishnu Prasad Ghimire.
“It is a good indication for the financial health of cooperatives,” he said, adding that the department is offering incentives to promote merger.
According to Division Cooperatives Office Biratnagar, Ramailo and Suryodaya cooperatives of Bayarban-8 merged a week ago followed by merger of Biratnagar-16 based Rashi and Nepal, and Letang-8 based Mahila Jagaran and Jan Chahana.
Merger in cooperatives sector started in January as Yatu Ganesh Cooperatives and Siddhi Ganesh Cooperative of Bhaktapur merged together. The department is planning to provide technical and financial support for the merger from next fiscal year. “We already have merger policy but we are planning to give some incentives to promote merger,” he said. However, modalities of incentives are not decided yet.
The department is promoting merger to reduce their numbers to half. Currently, around 10,326 saving and credit cooperatives are in operation across the country and half of them are in urban areas. Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur – alone has 40 per cent of the total.
According to the department, saving and credit cooperatives have Rs 97.49 billion deposit from poor and marginalised section of population, while Rs 79.63 billion has been invested from street shops to real estate. Saving and credit cooperatives are mobilising billions of rupees from public saving without strong monitoring. “We are promoting merger to make it easier to monitor,” he said, adding that the country doesnot need 22,239 cooperatives in a small economy.
About 6,000 cooperatives are sufficient for Nepal unless they are distributed equally in all the regions,” he said adding that one multipurpose cooperative in a VDC can serve thousands of people. About a dozen cooperatives are sufficient for municipal areas and two-three dozen in sub-metropolis and metropolis.
National Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperative Unions — an umbrella organisation of saving and credit cooperatives — also supported the voluntary merger. “We do not have any objection to promote voluntary merger,” chairperson of the Federation Min Raj Kandel, said, adding that it should not be forceful.
Merger will reduce their expenses,” he said, adding that good implementation of merger policy will also help reduce irregularities.
Source: THT
