Ministry of Cooperatives Holds National Coordination Meeting to Accelerate Operationalisation of Red and White Village Cooperatives

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) held a National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) to strengthen cross-ministerial synergy, local governments, and stakeholders in the operationalisation phase of Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives (Kopdes) Merah Putih. The Rakornas, held in Jakarta on Wednesday, involved all provincial and regency/city cooperative office heads from across Indonesia, as well as several other stakeholders. Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono stated that support from local governments and ministries/agencies is a crucial factor in implementing the national strategic programme for Red and White Cooperatives, from legal entity formation to the operationalisation stage. “We hope the entire extended family of the Ministry of Cooperatives focuses on ensuring the operationalisation stage of the Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives,” said Ferry. He conveyed that the government will begin inaugurating 1,061 Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives in Central Java and East Java that are ready to operate. The symbolic inauguration is scheduled at the Red and White Cooperative in Nganjuk Regency, East Java. Ferry mentioned that to date, 37,327 cooperative units have been and are being built across Indonesia. Of that number, 8,927 units have been 100 percent completed, including outlets, warehouses, and other supporting facilities. “The success of these cooperatives is not just about legal entities or buildings, but they must function to sell basic necessities, absorb community production outputs, and distribute central government programmes,” he said. According to Ferry, the government is also preparing a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) as the legal umbrella for cooperative operationalisation. The draft Inpres has been submitted to the Ministry of State Secretariat. He stated that the Inpres will regulate the acceleration of village cooperative operationalisation, including business models, human resources (HR) recruitment, and management information systems.