Bandar Seri Begawan - Most registered cooperatives open merely for the sake of existence and this should not be the case, highlighted YB Awang Haji A Ahmad bin Husain during the afternoon session of the 9th Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday.

He underscored the need for such cooperatives to be resilient, competitive, viable and sustainable in line with the global business climate.

"We have seen the development of local cooperatives improve in recent years with the establishment of the Mukim and Village Cooperative (KOKAMI) and a cooperative development body."

However, the LegCo member was quick to highlight that locals were not responsive to the move, which has resulted in some cooperatives becoming, unsustainable and unable to contribute to the socioeconomic growth of the nation.

In response, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, YB Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Data Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar noted that there are on-going problems within KOKAMI's internal affairs which prove to be inevitable.

To restore order, the minister urged that local cooperatives be willing to accept the responsibilities of membership of all parties, including shareholders who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions.

According to the minister, the Brunei Industrial Development Authority (BINA) is currently making amendments to the administration side of these cooperative movement which encompasses regulatory and guidance services, training and education services, entrepreneurial services and auditing.

The minister also urged all local cooperatives to hold an annual general meeting (AGM) amongst its members to further develop their business activities while continuing to be beneficial and achieving its goals as a quality organisation

"The project has proven effective, as obeying cooperatives showed an improvement of 40 per cent in their activities. It is hoped that by 2015, local cooperatives can reach 99 to 100 per cent good governance in its ambition towards regional excellence," said the minister.