CoopAFRICA Working Paper No. 17 Cooperatives in Zanzibar: Decline and renaissance Sam Maghimbi The cooperative movement in Zanzibar is extensive. However, cooperative development stagnated after the Cooperative Union of Tanzania underwent reforms in 1991, which saw the Isles’ movement break away from the mainland federation to create its own structure. Currently, the organization and support structures of the cooperative movement are quite weak. Virtually no primary cooperatives provide nancial contributions to the cooperative unions, and the cooperative unions in turn are not able to make annual nancial contributions to the federation. Further, the cooperative movement in Zanzibar has no support institution for training and there is little donor CoopAFRICA Working Paper No. 17 support. Cooperative enterprises that were previously strong have withered, but there are a few primary cooperatives that have managed to survive and even ourish within this austere situation. Recent policy and legislative measures taken seek to breathe life Cooperatives in Zanzibar: back into the cooperative movement and provides some optimism for its revival. Decline and renaissance Sam Maghimbi ILO Country Office for the United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda COOPAFRICA Kazi House, Maktaba Street P.O. Box 9212 Dar es Salaam United Republic of Tanzania Tel: +255.22.2196700 Fax: +255.22.2122597 E-mail:
[email protected] www.ilo.org/coopafrica International Labour Office Cooperative Programme (EMP/COOP) 4, route des Morillons 1211 Geneva 22 Switzerland Tel: + 41.22.7997021 Fax: +41.22.7996570 E-mail:
[email protected] www.ilo.org/coop The Cooperative Facility for Africa (CoopAFRIC A ) is a regional technical cooperation programme of the ILO contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the promotion of decent work in Africa by promoting self-help initiatives, mutual assistance in communities and cross border exchanges through the cooperative approach.