President to launch reviewed National Co-operatives Act 

Source: President to launch reviewed National Co-operatives Act – herald

Remember Deketeke-Herald Correspondent

President Mnangagwa is expected to launch the reviewed National Co-operatives Act tomorrow, a milestone that will strengthen the co-operative movement, improve regulation and enhance access to economic opportunities for millions of Zimbabweans.

In an interview, Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the legal reforms to the law governing co-operatives were meant to respond to the evolving sector since 2017, when the last review was conducted.

This comes as the Second Republic, led by President Mnangagwa, continues to register milestones in different economic sectors in line with its mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.

The event will take place during the inaugural National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Co-operatives Indaba.

The high-level forum is expected to bring together Government, financial institutions, the private sector, development partners, co-operatives and entrepreneurs to explore ways of enhancing the sector’s role in the country’s economic transformation agenda.

The two-day indaba will be held under the theme: “Towards Vision 2030: Building an Enabling Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Ecosystem.”

“We have been working hard. We cannot continue with what we spoke about in 2017 when we are now in 2026,” she said.

“The review, by the way, was not done by just the ministry or Government alone. There were extensive consultations, and what emerged from those consultations is what we have now incorporated into the National Co-operatives Act.”

The launch comes after the formulation and Cabinet approval of the National Co-operative Development Policy in December 2025.

“Co-operatives now operate across virtually every productive sector of the economy, making it essential that the legal framework evolves alongside them,” she said.

“The existing Act has not kept pace with these developments and remains misaligned with several priorities contained in the National Co-operative Societies Development Policy, particularly in areas such as financial management, digitalisation, and co-operative marketing and trade.”

The review, said Minister Mutsvangwa, seeks to modernise the legal framework, eliminate outdated provisions and create conditions that will allow co-operatives to realise their full potential as engines of inclusive and sustainable economic development.

The ministry, she added, is also working towards a dedicated legal framework for savings and credit co-operatives.

The policy reviews the previous 2005 Co-operative Policy and seeks to rebrand co-operative societies by making them instrumental in innovation, industrialisation, empowerment and wealth creation.

The policy further provides an enabling regulatory framework aimed at entrenching good governance, financial inclusion, transparency and accountability in the management of co-operative societies, unlike in the past.

The new policy aligns the co-operative sector with national development strategies, financial inclusion initiatives, artificial intelligence and digitalisation.

Minister Mutsvangwa said some co-operatives, particularly in the housing sector, had experienced challenges in the past, but the revised legislation would reinforce accountability and improve governance.

“Here and there, there may have been co-operatives, perhaps in housing, where there have been some issues. But I want you to know that the work of this ministry is to make sure that we register all co-operatives,” she said.

“No one can just start a co-operative without a constitution and begin operating. They must have a constitution; they come here; they are registered.”

Currently, there are approximately 10 802 registered co-operative societies with an estimated three million members operating across key sectors of the economy, including housing, agriculture, savings and credit, fisheries, manufacturing, mining, transport, retail, arts and culture, as well as services such as education, health, security, ICT (information and communication technology) and waste management.

Of these, 3 812 are housing co-operatives, 1 380 are savings and credit co-operative societies (SACCOs), 961 are agricultural co-operatives, 924 are in manufacturing, 860 are fisheries co-operatives, 990 are multi-purpose co-operatives, while the remaining 1 875 operate in other sectors, including transport, mining and services.

Minister Mutsvangwa said the reviewed Act would also improve confidence in co-operatives among financial institutions, making it easier for them to access financing.

“We want to make sure that when financial institutions see co-operatives coming into banks, they give them due respect, knowing that they are playing a very important role in the country’s economy,” she said.

She added that Zimbabwe was drawing lessons from successful co-operative models elsewhere on the continent, including Kenya, as part of efforts to modernise the country’s legal and institutional framework.

“As a country, we always want to learn from others how we can improve our support for co-operatives,” she said.

President Mnangagwa has spearheaded several initiatives in different economic sectors that have helped improve the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.

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