Mission accomplished ! The law on cooperatives, named “Edgard law” was adopted unanimously and without amendment by the Senate during the plenary session of this institution which took place yesterday. Another giant step in the development of a legal framework that will promote the development of cooperative associations. At the Anosikely Palace, the Minister of Industrialization, Trade and Consumption, Edgard Razafindravahy attended the adoption of this law, while still explaining the main benefits of Law 007/2023 on cooperatives, before the senators. The members of the Upper House were convinced of the long-term work as well as the way in which this new legislation was drawn up.
Reforms and solutions
“This law had passed through several stages before arriving in our hands. [Le Sénat, Ndlr], it was also considered from every angle by the senators during the committee work and it was Mr. Minister, Edgard Razafindravahy in person who came during this committee work. He was able to readjust the texts in his bill to meet the current needs of the population. For my part, I strongly encourage my counterparts to adopt this law” says Ndremanjary Jean André, senator and at the same time, member of the Finance, Economy and Sustainable Development Commission in the Senate. The law on cooperatives aims to strengthen state support for cooperatives but also to strengthen the legality of the actions of cooperatives with a view to increasing grassroots productivity.
“When we talk about Industrialization and cooperatives, we are talking about the daily lives of grassroots populations. The bill that my ministry is proposing aims to involve cooperative associations more in grassroots development in order to gradually boost the country’s economy. It will also make it possible to accelerate development through the membership of producers in cooperative associations”, explains Edgard Razafindravahy. Through this bill, local products will also be promoted. An innovation because each product from the village or commune of origin will now be labeled so that cooperative societies can sell locally or abroad. “All cooperative societies or those in the making, all over the Big Island will be able to directly export local products. For example, when we were in the Bongolava, we could see that they produced pink peppercorns in very large quantities. Of course, they had cooperative societies but there they simply could not export their products outside the region, something that may change with this new law”, continues Edgard Razafindravahy.