No relief for Grassroot CSOs & Co-operatives in South Africa
No relief for Grassroot CSOs & Co-operatives in South Africa By Sizwe Mkwanazi, Africa Cooperatives Institute of SA | 20 April 2020 Cooperatives and charity organisations play a key role in the livelihoods of most vulnerable South Africans. These organisations make up the progressive organisations sector. They stand up for human rights, fight against gender based violence, run feeding schemes and are at the forefront of fighting the virus in a number of ways. Women, youth and the unemployed people of our country have worked hard organising themselves into cooperatives in different sectors. Their fledgling cooperatives are at the risk of complete collapse and not only because they cannot meet the criteria for most of the relief funds, but because they are not confident in the system since it does not recognise the sector in its own right. The lack of support intended specifically for cooperatives and charities in South Africa is nothing but another disaster waiting to happen. Most