“Trade empowerment, is the vision for cooperative movements”.

In his series about empowering grassroots communities Massy-Moses Kasule points to the failure of the cooperative movement in Uganda and its impact on the development of “local democracy”. He compares it to the success of the Danish cooperative movement.

The key objective that led the Ugandan peasant farmers to organise themselves into a cooperative movement in the beginning of the 20th century was to have “primary societies” that would enable the peasant farmers to market their own products and give them some form of influence onthe prices.

Massy Moses Kasule

Cooperatives begin in Uganda
In Uganda the colonial government was initially sceptical towards the cooperatives. They were perceived as a political threat. But when the first legislation on the cooperatives was made with the “cooperative ordinance of 1946 legislation”, it was an indication that the government had become more positive towards the formation of primary societies. When it was amended in 1952 it gave more autonomy to the cooperative movement. The 1952 amendments included a removal of price discrimination against African farmers and gave access to agroprocessing to the same farmers. Ironically, this was the first direct government intervention in the affairs of a rather independent society.

Peasants are the backbone of Danish democracy
Drawing on similarities with the setting up of the first consultative provisional assemblies in Denmark in 1834,(Empowering Grassroots Communities in the July 2007 MS Newsletter), it isn’t surprising to note that there was also scepticism about the cooperative movement ideology from higher circles though these were overwhelmed by its practical advantages to the peasants needs. Unlike in Uganda, Demark was already in the democratisation process and the likes of the priest, teacher and ideologist N.F.S. Grundtvig were already campaigning for an “enlightened and active population” especially the poor peasant farmers. Grundtvig who had an enormous influence on shaping the present Danish identity was of the opinion, that the most important point in building a democratic
state was not the democratic state organs. It had more to do with the participation and inclusion of the peasants and how they in practical terms influenced their livelihood.

Unlike in Uganda, the government in Denmark did not intervene in the control and management of cooperative. The result was that it directly and indirectly contributed to the rapid growth of independent cooperative societies - people’s forums - that enabled peasants to discuss and decide on their daily livelihood. In essence this also worked as a precursor to building and enhancing the local democracy, which is a cornerstone of the Danish welfare state even up to this day.

Post- independence cooperatives in Uganda on a down-spiral
With the attainment of political independence in 1962, the cooperative movement in Uganda continued to expand. However there was also significant changes in the direction and purpose of the movement, as leaders of the “primary societies” began forming alliances with the new political setups (political parties) that had been formed to take over government powers.

This was the milestone that saw the cooperative movement being politicized and the government taking total control through its Ministry of Land and Agriculture in the early sixties. It was transformed to the Ministry of Cooperatives and Marketing in the early seventies through the eighties. The period after independence (1963 -1970) was characterised by cooperative legislation that sought direct control over all cooperatives activities. By 1995 the
cooperative movement had totally collapsed.

The future of cooperatives in Uganda
During the same period, through the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP) by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the blame in the failures in the performance of cooperative movement in developing countries was squarely put on the excessive control and state political intervention in the management of the cooperative societies.

Under the current regime, there is now efforts to revitalise some of the old cooperatives and to form new societies or associations based on the seven universal principles; voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives and concern for community.

In my next article in the series, I will be looking at the success stories of the Danish cooperative movement,lessons leant and what can be done in Uganda to revive the cooperative movement.