Cooperatives in Mhlontlo Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province : an examination of the ablers and disablers of grassroots development

Scholars and policy makers often see cooperatives as agents of rural economic development. However, experiences have showed that cooperatives in some rural communities have not brought sustainable rural development as levels of poverty and unemployment are still staggeringly high. It is against this background that this study examines the enablers and disablers of cooperatives in Mhlontlo Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape. In order to achieve this aim, the study adopted qualitative research design. Oral interviews and Focus Group Discussions were used to collect qualitative data from the purposively selected participants. Also, official documents on the roles of cooperatives to rural development were used to complement primary sources of data collection. Thematic analytical technique was used to analyse data obtained. The result of the analysis revealed that lack of basic infrastructures, inadequate value addition and inefficient monitoring and evaluation of the programmes have disabled the cooperative societies in Mhlontlo Local Municipality from achieving the goals of rural development. Based on the analysis of data, the study concluded that cooperatives in Mhlontlo Local Municipality are faced with immense challenges, which are hampering their contributions to achieving sustainable rural development in the municipality. Based on this conclusion, the study recommended that in order to improve the efficiency of cooperative societies in terms of achieving rural development, government needs to engage relevant stakeholders such as the local government officials, private sector, community members and the NGOs in the formulation and implementation of strategies to be adopted by the cooperative societies in bringing about sustainable rural development