Malawians Urged to Embrace Concept of Cooperatives

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has urged Malawians to embrace the concept of cooperatives which it says is a key to poverty alleviation.

This was said by the Ministry’s Deputy Director for Cooperatives, Mercy Safarao after touring Mtikita Community Savings and Investment Promotion (Comsip), in Blantyre.

Safarao said cooperatives are improving people’s lives, hence there is a need to embrace them.

“Cooperatives are changing the livelihood of members but then, it depends on how the members take it. The understanding that a cooperative is a business is most significant and we need to work together to improve lives,” she said.

However, she complained that most members are denied the feeling of ownership as choosing leaders is done on family relation basis.

“There is lack of governance in some cooperatives in the country, as a result it stops from a feeling of ownership of the group as choosing leaders is done on family relations basis,” she complained.

On her part, Blantyre District Council community development officer Agnes Napwanga said Mtikita is among five outstanding cooperatives in her jurisdiction.

Mtikita Comsip cooperative book keeper Iness Solomon said plans are underway to establish a butchery, although marketing of their pigs is sometimes problematic due to poor prices offered by the vendors.

Mtikita Comsip, which is located in Mwangata Village in Traditional Authority (TA) Somba in Blantyre, is one of the savings and lending groups formed out of Public Works Program in 2010.