South African Co-ops defend the Cooperatives Act
South African Co-ops defend the Cooperatives Act Cooperative leaders marching to the Department of Small Business Development in Pretoria to hand over a memorandum of demands. Picture: Masonwabe Fuma The South African Coops Association Retail Network (SACARN) is planning a march rallied by Cooperatives to hand in a memorandum to the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) at their head offices in Pretoria. The march comes as a result of Cooperatives rejecting the DSBD’s second wave programme called Township and Rural Entrepreneurship programme (TREP) which was approved by the cabinet in February 2020. The Department unveiled the TREP programme as the second wave of financial relief scheme that is expected to rescue townships and villages adversely affected by the covid-19 lockdown. Hon. Ms Khumbudzo Phophi Silence Ntshavheni , the Minister of Small Business Development said the scheme aims to benefit informal, micro, and small enterprises including cooperatives based in townsh