Co-operatives Act, 2005 (Act No. 14 of 2005)RegulationsCo-operatives Administrative Regulations, 2016Chapter 1 : Co-operative Registration and SupportPart 4 : Co-operative Development and Support Structures64. Framework for Intergovernmental relations in respect of co-operatives |
Whereas the South African government has prioritized the development of co-operatives to contribute towards poverty alleviation and employment creation in all spheres of the economy; and
Whereas the responsibility of promoting the development of co-operatives and collective entrepreneurship cannot be achieved by the Department of Small Business Development alone, but must involve a wide variety of participants from all levels of government as well as the private sector; and
Whereas all departments at national level have a responsibility and duty to actively promote the development of co-operatives through the formulation of sector specific co-operative strategies, support programmes and institutional arrangements for inclusion into a comprehensive system of support properly aligned with the core principles the co-operative development strategy; and
Whereas all provincial and local governments through their various departments and units responsible for economic development have a responsibility and duty to actively promote the development of co-operatives within their spheres of influence through the formulation of provincial co-operative strategies and municipal co-operative implementation plans within their integrated development plans;
Now, therefore, Government has passed the Co-operatives Amendment Act, 2013 (Act 6 of 2013), providing inter alia for the necessary intergovernmental support structures to enable a properly integrated and coordinated approach to achieving these objectives.
| 64.1 | Institutions and structures |
The institutions and structures referred to in section 91CC of the Act are in existence, have now been created, or must be created pursuant to the provisions of the Act and their functions are listed in section 91EE. The National Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee on Co-operatives must co-ordinate all co-operatives development programmes developed by sectoral national departments
| 64.2 | Administrative and procedural arrangements |
Every institution and structure's administrative and procedural arrangements must comply with this framework for intergovernmental relations on co-operatives.
| 64.3 | Guidelines for Managing Joint Programmes |
The Guidelines for Managing Joint Programmes issued under the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 (Act No. 13 of 2005), will apply mutatis mutandis to all participating national departments, provincial governments and local governments and other participating structures in facilitating, co-ordinating in the implementing policy and legislation on co-operatives and must be applied as far as possible.
| 64.4 | The Role of the National Interdepartmental Co-ordinating Committee on Co-operatives |
This Committee has primary responsibility for:—
| • | alignment of the national co-operative policy, Co-operatives Act, 2005 (Act 14 of 2005) as amended, the national co-operative strategy with departmental and agency development strategies; |
| • | the coordination of the various Government institutions dealing with co-operative enterprises in their respective provinces. |
| • | the promotion, provision and management of non-financial and financial co-operative support services; the management of privileges and incentives for co-operatives. |
| • | the reporting, collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics related to co-operative development; facilitation of access to markets; facilitation of access to credit; promotion of the concept and practice of co-operatives. |
| 64.5 | The Role of the Inter-Provincial Co-ordinating Committee on Co-operatives |
This Committee has primary responsibility for:—
| • | alignment of the national co-operative policy, Co-operatives Act, 2005 (Act 14 of 2005) as amended, the national co-operative strategy and the provincial growth and development strategies in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders; |
| • | coordination of the various Government institutions dealing with co-operative enterprises in their respective provinces; |
| • | the promotion, provision and management of non-financial and financial co-operative support services, the management of privileges and incentives for co-operatives within the provinces; |
| • | the reporting, collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics related to co-operative development; facilitation of access to markets; facilitation of access to credit; promotion of the concept and practice of co-operatives within the provinces. |
64.6 Implementation protocols or memoranda of understanding
The various participating national departments, provincial governments and local governments and other participating structures must, when initiating joint programmes enter into implementation protocols or memoranda of understanding scoping the venture and determining—
| • | the exact nature of the programme; |
| • | its primary objective; |
| • | its priority status; |
| • | timescales for implementation of the programme; and |
| • | key performance indicators and performance targets for implementing the programme; and |
identifying—
| • | the parties that will participate in implementing the programme; |
| • | the role of each of those participants in implementing the programme; and |
| • | the extent to which each of those participants will be involved in implementing the programme; |
The protocol or memorandum must also—
| • | determine the capacity required for each of those parties to implement the programme; |
| • | determine the estimated cost of implementing the programme, including how and by whom implementation of the programme, or aspects of the programme, is to be funded and budgeted for; and |
| • | identify a department best suited to act as the coordinating department for the programme; |
| • | provide for scoping studies before joint programmes are implemented to determine the scale of and timeframes for the programme; |
| • | provide for the establishment of joint management mechanisms to ensure accountability for a joint programme, including— |
| o | a joint programme steering committee; |
| o | a joint Panel of Executive Authorities. |
| 64.7 | Intergovernmental structures |
An intergovernmental structure established as contemplated in the Act, must—
| • | submit copies of the approved minutes of all meetings to the Minister, various Members of the Executive Council responsible for economic development and the entities contemplated in section 91CC, of the Act represented in such structure; |
| • | submit quarterly reports regarding their financial and operational performance to the Minister, various Members of the Executive Council responsible for economic development and the entities contemplated in section 91CC of the Act represented in such structure; and |
| • | be financed from money appropriated by the Department and submit annual budgets for approval to the Department. |
| 64.8 | Provincial Interdepartmental and Municipal Coordinating Structures |
| (1) | Provincial Interdepartmental and Municipal Coordinating Structures must be established under direction of the Premier's Office and must be chaired by the provincial department dealing with economic development, which will provide secretariat support to the structure. |
| (2) | Provincial Interdepartmental and Municipal Coordinating Structures must develop provincial co-operative development strategies and submit these to the Premier's Office for approval. |
| (3) | Quarterly reports on financial and operational performance of Provincial Interdepartmental and Municipal Coordinating Structures will be submitted to the National Interdepartmental Co-ordination Committee. |
| (4) | Annual reports on progress on the provincial co-operative development strategies will be submitted to the Provincial Legislature and circulated to other relevant provincial and local structures. |
| 64.9 | Meetings |
Committees must meet at least once every four months. The date for the meeting must be advised by not less than 14 days' notice. The venue for the meeting and catering expenses will rest with the hosting department or province.
| 64.10 | Record of meetings |
The Department of Small Business Development, unless otherwise indicated, must provide the secretariat to record the salient points/ decisions raised and agreed to at meetings and circulate minutes to members of Committees within 7 days.
| 64.11 | Recommendations and decision makers |
Recommendations will be made by consensus by the members of Committees. The Department of Small Business Development may implement the recommendations subject to requisite internal approvals.
| 64.12 | Dispute resolutions |
Any dispute that may arise as a consequence of the work done by any Committee must be resolved through mutual dialogue.
| 64.13 | Strategic outcomes of the committees |
The strategic outcomes of the committee must be as follows:
| • | National Departments as well as provincial departments responsible for economic development as well as local governments' co-operatives development strategies must be aligned to the National Integrated Strategy for the Development and Promotion of Co-operatives in South Africa, 2012 - 2022. |
| • | Government policy and strategy across government and agencies on the development of co-operatives must be aligned, coordinated, implemented and monitored. |
| • | Support instruments to promote the development of co-operatives sectorally must be designed and promoted. |
| • | Policy must be articulated |
| • | Gaps must be identified in existing government policy, so as to develop and formulate policy in order to fill the identified gaps against the strategic outcomes. |
| • | Recommendations must be submitted to Minmec and the Co-operative Advisory Council. |
| • | Status of co-operatives must be reported on. |