Gert Sibande District Municipality (GSDM) leadership together with the MEC for the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr S. Kholwane, joined a number of entrepreneurs to celebrate District Co-operative Day last Tuesday.
The celebration brought together co-operatives, young people, government departments and agencies offering support services to co-operatives under one roof with the aim of increasing awareness and support for the development of co-operatives.
The event was also a build-up to international co-operatives day which is celebrated on 1 July with the day aimed at celebrating and recognising the role that cooperatives play in social and economic development.
GSDM, under the leadership of Mr M. Chirwa and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, which is led by Mr Kholwane, recognised co-operatives that strive to perform despite operational and resource challenges.
The winner in the field of agriculture was the Nodindwa Family Trust Cooperative from Govan Mbeki Municipality, the manufacturing services award went to Zibonele Arts and Culture Cooperative from Lekwa Municipality and the Young Nature Minders in Tourism Cooperatives from Lekwa Municipality walked away with the arts award.
Mr Kholwane congratulated the winners and said co-operatives are the backbone of local economic development strategies since time immemorial.
“Their close proximity to our local settings makes them a vital instrument towards achieving sustainable development and economic emancipation, especially for the rural masses of our
people,” he said.
He added that his department had allocated additional resources and announced new interventions that seek to strengthen support and development roles for co-operatives.
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