DILI, 27 june 2023 (TATOLI) – The Secretary of State for Cooperatives (SSFC) registered 351 new cooperatives across during the five-year term.
The creation of 351 cooperatives brings the total number of cooperatives from 101 to 452.
“Since I took office, we have created a total of 351 cooperatives. So we now have about 452 cooperatives, made up of 127 credit cooperatives and 325 producer cooperatives,” Secretary of State for Cooperatives Elizário Ferreira told Tatoli at his office, in Dili.
He said last year credit unions accumulated US$6 million in income, making it one of the most productive cooperatives in the country.
As of december 2022, we registered 120,000 members of cooperatives with collective revenues of US$37.
Most of the cooperatives are established in the municipalities and only ten are based in Dili.
“We increased the number of cooperatives through a program called ‘Return young people to their village.’ In 2020, more than 200 young people from all over the country participated in cooperative training. We assigned two of each of these young people to many administrative positions to organize cooperatives,” Elizário explained.
“We increased the number of cooperatives through a program called ‘Return young people to their village.’ In 2020, more than 200 young people from all over the country participated in cooperative training. We assigned two of each of these young people to the many administrative positions to organize cooperatives,” Elizário explained.
These young people play a crucial role in convincing our rural communities to create and join cooperatives.
“As a result, within two years we were able to create 351 cooperatives, which is crucial to economic development in the country,” he concluded.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
