Cooperative Act to be amended

Suraj A Bandara

The Cooperative Act will be amended to upgrade the cooperative sector, Cooperatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando said.

Minister Johnston Fernando

The minister at a media briefing at Renuka Hotel yesterday said discussions are being held with the Attorney General's Department to explore the possibilities of amending the Cooperative Act to suit present day requirements.

New legislation will be introduced to enhance the services provided by cooperative societies to the public. The challenge of a competitive cooperative sector will also be focused on through the amendments.

The Cooperative Ministry does not have power to take legal action against frauds and irregularities carried out in certain cooperative societies. Fraudulent cooperative societies have been identified at the provincial level.

According to the existing procedure, the investigation reports are to be presented to the Boards of Directors of the Cooperative societies.

This enables the relevant parties to shun frauds and malpractices.

"The cooperative movement has been exempted from taxes. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken measures to write off a debt of two billion rupees owed by the cooperative societies. It has also been proposed to withdraw further debt of 1.5 billion rupees.

Minister Fernando said a mega scale Education and Trade Fair will be held at the Kurunegala town from June 28 to July 2 with the participation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This will convince the public on the challenging services of the cooperative sector.

New 300.000 members will be registered with the cooperative societies to mark the centenary of the cooperative law, while 100 houses will be constructed for the needy families, he said.

A cooperative lottery was also launched to coincide with Cooperative Day by the minister.