Article by Benson Mmari
Cooperative is the autonomous association of people who united together voluntarily to meet their common economical, cultural, and social needs and aspiration through jointly owned democratically controlled enterprises.
The history of cooperative in Tanzania has its roots that started from different periods of time. The beginning of the cooperative has initially started from colonial period, where the idea of cooperative came from the result of increasing of production of cash crops.
So, the history of cooperative development in Tanzania has been divided into four (4) main periods; and these are
1. Colonial Period (1890 – 1925 & 1925 – 1960)
2. Development after Independent (1961 – 1968 & 1968 – 1976)
3. Development after Villagezation, Act of 1975 (1977 – 1982 & 1982 – 1991)
4. Development from 1991 – 2002 & 2002 - 2003 – to date.
From above historical periods (phases), each period has an important event which occurred and affected Cooperative development in one way or another.
History on Colonial Period (1890 – 1960)
In these ages, coffee was cultivated in Usambara Mountains by Missionaries who they were invited by Colonial Administration. Later on, the Missionaries shifted from Usambara to Kilema, Moshi Rural and Hai areas where the crop grew well, and also they found cheap labors.
In 1921, the District Commissioner of Moshi who known as Sir Charles Dundas posted to Moshi and encourage the local people to grow coffee along their home farms.
Later in 1922/23 peasants produced 40 tons of coffee, and the number of African growers was 3300, by that number it led to the formation of Kilimanjaro Native Planters Association (KNPA) which used to unite all coffee growers so as to control the sales of coffee, to promote and protect the economic interest of African farmers, to assist in uniform planting and protect the coffee against diseases, and to enable farmers to get money.
In 1930 D.C of Moshi and governor of Tanganyika invited Indians governor to visit Tanganyika and the main aim to visit was to advise the government on how to initiate a Cooperative Law. It was resulted to the formation of Cooperative Society Ordinance which passed in 1932 and cooperative movement in Tanganyika was built. The ordinance enabled registration of Cooperative in Tanganyika. This law stipulated that a society whose object is the promotion of economic interest of its members in accordance with Cooperative Principles may be registered under this ordinance.
Between 1932 and 1950 different cooperative societies was registered from different areas in Tanganyika, including the first cooperative in Hai known as “Kibong’oto Cooperative Society”. During the time, eleven societies united and formed a secondary society in 1933, that’s Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU).
In 1950’s different Cooperative Departments were established in order to promote welfare of the cooperative movement, through information, education training, and propaganda. Examples of these departments are East African Schools of Cooperative at Kabete, Kenya (1951), Training School for Primary Cooperative societies at Mzumbe, Morogoro (1957), creation of Ministry of Cooperative and Social Welfare, and Sir George C. Kahama was appointed as a Minister.
Cooperative Development after 1960 - 1968
After the independence of Tanganyika in 1961, 9th December, on 27thNovember, 1961 the Cooperative Union of Tanganyika was registered as an Apex Organization or Territorial society for all types of cooperatives in the country.
Also in the same year (1961) Saving and Credit Union were first registered in Moshi – Mawella Mission Credit Union and In Dar es Salaam, known as Kianga Credit Union.
By 1963 Moshi Cooperative College was established under Cooperative Development division, and courses were formerly run by Kabete Kenya transferred to this college (M.C.C)
By 1963 registered cooperative societies reached 857, and up to next year (1964) numbers of credit unions in the country were 18. Then they united and formed a secondary society for credit unions known as Saving and Credit Cooperative Union League of Tanganyika (SCCULT) with aim of providing education and training for member societies, to publish and print stationeries, to be agent for insurance, and to distribute stationeries and books to member societies.
In 1967 the Arusha Declaration was announced; which aimed to discipline leaders to nationalize all the major means of production and put them under the leadership of the workers and farmers and to do away with all forms of exploitation.
The cooperative Ordinance of 1932 was repealed by new Act and replaced it by 1968 Act which required multipurpose Cooperative societies to be formed.
In 1972 Agriculture policy statement was announced at Iringa, that Agriculture was the back born of the economy of Tanzania. This was because the economy of the country depended on cash crop production.
In 1973 a Presidential decree announced to say that by 1975 all Tanzania must be living in Ujamaa villages’. That 250 households should constitute a village. The maximum number for each village to be 600 households; each village to be registered as a multipurpose cooperative society.
In order to affect the above decree a new act was passed to repeal the 1968 Cooperative societies Act. This act was called Village and Ujamaa village Act of 1975. The main purpose of this Act was to implement the policy of Decentralization.
Development from 1976 – 1982
After 1976 cooperative movement reflected more .government control than before. the primary societies in the rural areas were no members of the crop Authorities. The primary societies became buying posts. The member had no control or say over the crop authorities. At the national level, the government established the WASHIRIKAin 1979 which was an affiliate of the party. Its members were all primary societies.
In 1982 a new Act was passed to replace the 1968 Act and Village Act of 1975 was replaced by Local Government Act 1982. The aim of the Cooperative Act 1982 was to provide for the societies as instrument for the implementation of the policy of socialism and self reliance to repeal the cooperative society act of 1982 and Washirika Act of 1979.
Up to 1980’s, two or more villages could register a rural cooperative society under the 1982 Act. The membership was voluntary, and the cooperative activities operated under the umbrella of the registered rural cooperative society should be able to pay its own operating cost. It should not be burden to the agriculture marketing activity. A lot of unviable activities were established and interfered the income of the main activity which rendered many rural cooperatives to become unviable.
In 1991 government came up with a new Cooperative Act 1991 after some mistakes to happened in 1982 Act that it didn’t take into account the importance of carrying out an economic survey before registering any rural cooperative society. So, the Cooperative Society Act of 1991 object was to correct the mistakes of 1982 Act and gave more powers to cooperative members. The Act aims at forming autonomous cooperative organization, controlled and managed by the members with less government interference.
The 1991 Cooperative Act intended to insure that members are given the freedom to own and control their cooperative and that only economically viable societies are registered and members have the final say on their cooperative, and the government remain as advises.
As a result the Cooperative Act of 2003 was passed to replace the 1991 Act. The aim of the new Act (2003) was to implement the suggested improvements provided in the Cooperative Policy of 2002 which was in place. This Act operating until today.
