Societies face tougher registration demands

THE 7000 cooperative society groups will be deregistered by 2020, then re-registered by following proper procedures, an official says.
Registrar of cooperative societies Stephen Sallun said there was no way to keep track of the activities of cooperative groups.
Most cooperative groups were issued certificates of incorporation without proper identification and details of their activities. A study will also be conducted to verify the actual number of cooperative groups existing.
“To minimise paper cooperative groups, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of Papua New Guinea under the Department of Commerce and Industry and leadership of Minister Wera Mori will de-register all 7000 cooperative groups by 2020,” he said.
“This is to ensure existing groups come forward and register themselves and allow us to compile accurate data of their existence and activities and in which locations.
“The data will also enable the registrar’s office to plan activities and programmes based on challenges that need to be addressed.”
Sallun said the registration fees will be changed but will be announced later.
“In the long run, we’re anticipating to create a cooperative society college in partnership with some existing government institutions,” Sallun said.
He said while the cooperative societies had the potential to change the lifee of families forever, it also needed to be registered with the right rules and regulations.
Mori said cooperatives taking part in agricultural activities can benefit a lot of families and support people to be in their village and farm their land, urging people to be part of those cooperatives.