President calls for revitalising co-operative movement

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday called for revitalising Bangladesh’s co-operative movement by reforming relevant laws, ensuring good governance and making co-operative organisations competitive with NGOs and other institutions.

 Recalling his childhood in Thakurgaon, the President said he had witnessed a vibrant co-operative movement there, with a co-operative building, cold storage and a large market that attracted prominent people of the town.

Mirza Fakhrul said the co-operative movement had played an important role in Bangladesh’s history and recalled the emphasis placed on the issue by late President Ziaur Rahman as part of his vision of a self-reliant Bangladesh.

 He also recalled the contribution of Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan, a pioneer of Bangladesh’s co-operative movement, saying Ziaur Rahman had brought him back to Bangladesh and sought to revive the model associated with the Cumilla co-operative movement.

The President said he had recently visited an academy in Bogura and had been pleased to see examples of successful co-operatives, including organisations that had built and successfully operated hospitals and undertaken housing projects.

He urged the government to review existing co-operative laws and make them more suitable for the present needs.

Mirza Fakhrul also identified the rapid growth of NGOs as another factor behind the decline of co-operatives.�"UNB