Co-operative movement in confusion due to different regulatory directives
लगानी न्यूज
Kathmandu. Stakeholders have stressed the need for policy and legal clarity for regulatory uniformity in the cooperative sector. They are of the view that many confusions have arisen in the cooperative sector due to multiple regulators and the existing laws need to be amended to solve them.
Speaking at an interaction programme on ‘Confusion seen in the cooperative sector due to multi-regulator and ways to resolve it’ organized by the Society of Cooperative Journalists of Nepal in collaboration with the Department of Cooperative Journalists here today, he lamented that the legal interpretation of the multi-regulator was different.TAG_OPEN_div_70
Secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration, Madan Bhujel, who was the chief guest of the program, said that the NRA should regulate the cooperatives doing the main transaction of savings and loan while the Department of Cooperatives should regulate the others.TAG_OPEN_div_68 He said that the role of both would be further clarified through the amendment of the law.
TAG_OPEN_div_66″The NRA should regulate the cooperatives dealing in savings and loans and the Department of Cooperatives of other subjects should be regulated,” he said, “The role of the Authority is yet to be clarified and necessary human resources are to be made stronger.” The ordinance makes it clear. But now we are also exercising a separate act for the operation of the authority. The draft is being prepared. There was a need to bring a special act to operate the authority. ’
He also said that the formulation of the new cooperative act has also moved ahead simultaneously and the role of the cooperative department will also be clarified in it.TAG_OPEN_div_64 “We also need a cooperative department,” he said. At a time when questions were being raised about the relevance of the Department of Cooperatives, the secretary of the Ministry of Talukdar clarified that the relevance of the department has not been exhausted even in the changed legal situation.
He argued that since the state has gone to the federal structure, the authority cannot be given all the powers alone. “The NRA also has to coordinate with the state and local levels. By doing so, there will be uniformity in the regulatory directives,” Secretary Bhujel said.
He expressed his commitment to move forward after taking suggestions from the stakeholders as preparations were underway to amend the law.TAG_OPEN_div_60 Secretary Bhujel also said that some mismatches seen in the cooperative ordinance could be rectified through a replacement bill.
Stating that there was no alternative to promoting cooperatives, which is a part of the economy, Secretary Bhujel said, “The government should play a supportive role and not interfere.TAG_OPEN_div_58 Acting President of the National Cooperatives Federation Ramesh Pokharel said that the role and rights of the regulatory bodies were not made clear and it would create problems in their operation. He said that the cooperatives are confused due to different guidelines issued by different regulators.
“A cooperative has to submit 27 reports to different bodies,” Pokharel said, borrowing the statement of the president of Bhaktapur Savings Association, “This has increased the cost and manpower of cooperatives and has also created confusion in the reporting format.”TAG_OPEN_div_56 He argued that there was confusion in determining the ceiling of capital and keeping the works to be carried out by the department after some attempts were seen in the cooperative ordinance and it was necessary to provide uniformity in the laws. Acting Chairman Pokharel said, “It should be clear in the law if the NRA is to promote savings loan and the department is to promote it along with others.” ’
Registrar of the Department of Cooperatives Baburam Gautam said that all sides were responsible for the crisis and a collective effort was needed to resolve the problem.TAG_OPEN_div_53 “Reform should start from itself,” he said, adding, “Cooperatives need resizing and reshaping. Even if there is self-regulation in cooperatives, it does not fit in our context. ’
On the occasion, Executive Director of the National Cooperative Regulatory Authority Ram Kumar Mahato pointed out the need of providing legal and policy clarity on the cooperative sector as an autonomous body.TAG_OPEN_div_51 “We are confident that these things will be incorporated in the law that will be formulated,” Mahato said, “Because even the survivors who are sub-judice in the court have been coming to us.” He said that people’s trust towards the NRA should be protected as it is both a challenge and an opportunity.
He suggested that coordination among all stakeholders is necessary to bring the cooperative sector back to its old rhythm.TAG_OPEN_div_49 “Now, people are getting agitated and frustrated at the mention of cooperatives,” Mahato said at the first public program after the ED of the NRA, “There was a time when people were enthusiastic about cooperatives. In such a situation, it has to be returned to the old rhythm, for which there is a need for uniformity in the executive instructions. ’
Nepal Savings & Credit Central Co-operative Union Ltd.TAG_OPEN_div_47 NEFSCUN Chairman Chandra Prasad Dhakal said that the problem has surfaced due to lack of complete regulation. “Regulation is not a campaign,” Dhakal said. ’
He argued that the campaign was frightened by some provisions of the Cooperative Ordinance.TAG_OPEN_div_45 Dhakal said, “We are in a state of terrorization now. The campaign has been alarmed by the widening of the definition of family and the ban on the business of unions. However, he said that there were problems because the campaign was not responsible yesterday and that the regulator should have set standards, set the limit of the business and manage it, but if the unions try to shut down the core job, there will be a serious crisis.
Presenting a working paper at the program, Dr. TAG_OPEN_div_43 Ramesh Prasad Chaulagain, former expert member of the National Cooperative Regulatory Authority (NCRA), said that the cooperatives sector is facing confusion due to multiple regulators.
{{TAG_OPEN_div_41} Due to the multi-regulation, the amount of self-taking and imposition of blame on others can lead to more danger in the future, “he said in his presentation, “The problem of passing the ball can lead to more trouble. ’
He said that although federalism has decentralized powers, legal arrangements should be made to regulate and supervise the cooperatives doing the main business of savings and loan.TAG_OPEN_div_39 “There are different practices regarding regulation and supervision in different countries, but in our country, it is easier and easier to regulate and supervise the second level regulator i.e. the authority. For this, he stressed that the NRA should be made as an autonomous body with policy and legal provisions and human resources should be managed accordingly. His presentation concluded that the NRA should be promoted as a single regulatory body of savings credit cooperatives. We have to empower the NRA,” Chaulagain said.
In his presentation, he also suggested that the classification of cooperatives is necessary.TAG_OPEN_div_37 He said that the Parliamentary Investigation Committee on Cooperatives and the Commission of Investigation on Irregularities have also laid emphasis on regulatory uniformity, citing confusion due to multiple regulators. Chaulagain, who is experienced in the cooperative sector, put forward the theory of 4 R’s to solve the existing problems. “Recovery, return, regulation and reduction,” he said. ’
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