47% co-op societies ineffective: TIB

Nearly 47 percent of registered cooperative societies in the country are ailing due to mismanagement and sloppy monitoring, Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) has said.

They should be made accountable to help meet people’s needs, said TIB Chairman Sultana Kamal while launching a report on Tuesday.

“Samabay has constitutional recognition. But, in most cases, this sector is plagued by irregularities and corruption due to lack of proper assessment,” she said, urging the authorities be watchful.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman blamed political interference for malpractices in the registration of cooperative societies.

He alleged Tk 8,000 to 10,000 was often demanded to register a society at the promptings of high officials and political leaders.

TIB garnered information on 37 cooperative societies in 11 Upazilas in eight districts for the survey - ‘Samabay Samiti management: challenge of good governance and ways to overcome’.

The survey cites a media report that says 21 multipurpose and other cooperative societies had siphoned off Tk 90 billion belonging to some 900,000 members and clients.

At present, there are 186,199 registered cooperative societies having 9,349,557 members.

These societies employ as many as 442,192 people.

They have a capital of about Tk 54 billion and property worth Tk 62 billion.

Their contribution to the GDP is 1.88 percent.

The for forms irregularities the TIB cites include registration without checking their eligibility, lack of proper assessment, concealment of actual profits, formation of societies with political motives, and using them as a conduits for investing black money.

The TIB would place its observations and recommendations before the government, Iftekharuzzaman said.