ILO COOP participates in Annual Summit organized by the Cooperative Bank of South Sudan

The Summit organized by the Cooperative Bank of South Sudan took place on 17 June 2021 bringing government officials, representatives from donor organizations, NGOs, international development partners, cooperative societies as well as youth.

News | 29 June 2021
Prof. Mathew Gordon Udo, under Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Co-operatives and Rural Development commenting on the presentations made by the speakers
The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest independent state on 9 July 2011 and the 184th member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on 29 April 2012. Despite being rich in oil and agricultural land, South Sudan remains a fragile country. The protracted impacts of the conflict, the recent macroeconomic crisis and the current pandemic have driven poverty rates to unprecedented levels.

Given the current challenges in the country, the Co-operative Bank of South Sudan & Co-op Consultancy Agency saw the need to bring together national and international stakeholders to brainstorm on “Donor-Private Sector-NGO partnerships in economic development and transformation of livelihoods in South Sudan”.

Elijah Wamalwa, Managing Director of the Co-operative bank addressing the participants
The issues discussed by the speakers included the importance of transforming the country from humanitarian dependency to sustainable development, the role of fishery cooperatives in the blue economy, and the role of private sector in the transformation of livelihoods and economy in South Sudan. The event combined face-to-face and online presentations.

The ILO COOP Unit Manager Ms. Esim was invited to the Summit to present the work of the ILO on cooperative development. Her intervention was followed by a presentation from Mr Guy Tchami, ILO’s cooperative policy and research specialist who highlighted findings from the needs assessment for cooperative development in South Sudan conducted in 2020. Other resource people included, among others, Country Representatives of the African Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in South Sudan, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Participants of the Summit
The Summit aimed at providing a platform to share information, enhance knowledge and facilitate synergies among development actors to effectively and efficiently deliver for the country and its citizens. Currently discussions are under way between the ILO and IFAD to address gaps identified through a needs assessment undertaken by the ILO.