Liberia, as one of the oldest countries in Africa, is also a member of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). Recently, Liberia was among African countries in Cairo, Egypt, attending the 13th African Ministerial Cooperative Conference.
The just-ended conference, according to report, was meant to unify cooperatives worldwide, and is the custodian of cooperative values and principles.
Regina Sokan-Teah, Registrar General of the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA), represented the cooperative sector of Liberia at the conference.
The Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) was established by an act of the National Legislature. Its mandate is to supervise the varied cooperatives in Liberia.
The ICA is a non- governmental cooperative federation representing cooperative movements globally. Currently, the ICA has 318 members from 112 African nations.
The primary goal of the ICA is to provide a global voice and forum for knowledge, expertise and coordinated action for and about cooperatives.
The ICA promotes and strengthens autonomous and viable cooperatives through capacity building and policy advocacy for the socio-economic benefit of its members. Liberia is a member of the 41 organizations across 23 countries who are part of the ICA.
ICA addresses the human development needs of existing and potential cooperatives in Africa, with its focus the participation of women and youth sustainability, identity, legal framework and cooperative capital.
This year’s ICA global conference was held under the theme, “Growing Africa together”.
When questioned about what Liberia stands to benefit from the just-ended conference, the CDA Registrar General responded as saying that Liberia benefits from new ideas in cooperative movement.
Teah noted that she came with the message of cooperation among cooperatives, a key factor to the CDA operation in the country.
She also called on the Government of Liberia (GOL) to focus more attention on cooperatives in Liberia as a means of addressing the country’s challenges.