ICA Asia-Pacific (ICA-AP) in collaboration with ICA Cooperative Law Committee (ICA-CLC) and with the support of the ICA-EU Partnership[1] organized an online discussion on framework cooperative law on 26th August 2020. This is part of the proposed pilot project to facilitate collaboration between South Pacific countries to develop a regional framework for cooperative law. The countries at this stage of the discussion are Fiji and Kiribati.
The meeting was organised to work with the cooperative departments in Fiji and Kiribati to better understand the issues with existing laws, compare the two Acts to identify issues that are shared as well as unique, and work to determine what parts of existing laws work well and what parts need reform. Based on the outcomes, the project can later be expanded to other countries in the region. During this process, we hope to facilitate dialogue between the two departments and other stakeholders, enable sharing of resources, and promote education and training.
Mr. Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director (ICA-AP) opened the discussion talking about the outcomes from the 1st ICA-AP Forum on Development of Cooperatives in the Pacific Islands held in Vanuatu in 2018 and the 2nd Forum held in Australia in 2019. Recently, the participants came together in the International Workshop on Role of Cooperatives in Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific countries organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism of the Government of Fiji at Nadi from 3 – 5 March 2020. The participants have also been involved in the legal framework analysis (LFA) of The Co-operative Act 1996 in Fiji, Cooperative Societies Act and Cooperative Societies Regulations of Kiribati, and other ICA member countries in the South Pacific.
The common need which came across from all these engagements with the South Pacific countries was to review and update existing cooperative laws. It is believed that a regional instrument can provide the needed support without interfering with the need for each country to tailor the laws to meet their own cultural, social, and legal context. All countries in the region are members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which was discussed during the March 2020 workshop in Fiji, as a Forum we needed to engage with. A regional engagement could help access resources and support from the PIF Secretariat.
Ms. Ann Apps, Consultant (ICA-AP) and Mr. P. Santosh Kumar, Secretary (ICA-CLC) discussed how cooperatives benefit from regulations acknowledging their specificities and ensuring a level playing field with other types of business organisations. The absence of a specific legal framework for cooperatives or a weak legal framework may damage co-ops, while in contrast, a supportive regulation may allow their development. This is the reason why knowledge and evaluation of cooperative legislation is a necessary tool for ICA offices and to support their advocacy and recommendations on the creation or improvement of legal frameworks, to document the implementation of cooperative legislation and policies, and to monitor their evolution.
Ms. Kammari Betiota, Director, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Kiribati and Mr. Faizal Khan, Director and Registrar, Department of Cooperative Business, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Fiji agreed to conduct a series of workshops at regular intervals over the coming months to keep the conversation going and build the momentum. The delivery of these workshops is proposed to be interactive - it will need the cooperative departments from Fiji and Kiribati to bring their expertise, practices and identify issues and problems for discussion. Each workshop will also have representation from a co-op to share their experiences from the field.
[1] In March 2016, the ICA and the European Union signed a Framework Partnership Agreement to implement a development programme aimed at benefitting and advancing cooperatives worldwide.
