By Aldridge Dzvene
The days of complacency in Zimbabwe’s cooperative sector are over, that was the uncompromising message from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, which has thrown down the gauntlet for cooperatives to professionalise, innovate, and clean up governance or risk being left behind in the country’s economic revolution.
The press conference was more than a routine policy update, it was a wake-up call. Cooperatives, long considered the backbone of grassroots empowerment, are being urged to shed outdated practices and step into a new era of competitiveness.The Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Honouray Monica Mutsvangwa made it clear that the sector’s survival depends on bold transformation anchored on professionalism, innovation, and transparency.
For decades, cooperatives have thrived as small community-driven entities, but most have remained trapped in informal operations with weak governance and minimal compliance with statutory frameworks. This has locked them out of bigger markets, financing opportunities, and strategic partnerships.
The Ministry’s push for reform is designed to break this cycle, with capacity building, leadership training, and strict governance standards taking centre stage.In the digital era, clinging to traditional business models is a recipe for irrelevance. The Minister challenged cooperatives to harness technology, from e-commerce platforms that expand market reach to blockchain solutions that ensure transparent and tamper-proof financial records. Innovation is no longer optional; it is the currency of survival.
The elephant in the room is governance. Persistent issues of mismanagement, lack of accountability, and member disputes have weakened trust in the sector. Without decisive action to entrench transparency, democratic participation, and visionary leadership, cooperatives risk losing both relevance and public confidence.
This call for reform aligns seamlessly with Zimbabwe’s economic agenda, which prioritises inclusive growth and community resilience. Properly managed, modern cooperatives could drive rural industrialisation, create jobs, and inject stability into local economies, making them a critical pillar of national development. But the challenge is two fold,: policy makers must sustain support through practical incentives and regulatory clarity, while cooperative members themselves must embrace change with urgency.
Without grassroots buy-in, reforms will remain policy papers instead of tangible progress.As the nation looks to the future, the cooperative sector has a clear choice — evolve into a professional, tech-savvy, governance-driven force for economic transformation, or risk fading into irrelevance. The next move is theirs.
