Abstract:
This qualitative exploratory case study looked at how cooperatives helped in job
creation and sustainable livelihood in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality in Limpopo
Province. The study had three objectives which were to explore the functions and
nature of cooperatives, to determine their relevance and purpose in improving the
living standards of communities, to assess their contribution to job and sustainable
livelihood creation and to make recommendations on strategies to improve the
contribution of cooperatives to job and sustainable livelihood creation. Seven
cooperatives in the municipality involved in agriculture, food processing, ranching,
bread making, capacity building and empowerment were studied. Semi-structured
face-to-face interviews with 18 participants, 9 cooperative managers and 9
beneficiaries were conducted. Participants were chosen using a non-probability
sampling technique. The eight-step descriptive qualitative data analysis method
developed by Tesch was used to analyse the primary study data. The results
indicated that cooperatives only made a small contribution to the development of
stable jobs and means of subsistence. The lack of coherent and clear recruitment
policies, gaps in training and acquired skills for managing the cooperatives, delayed
provision of subsidies, inability to penetrate the market, lack of product distribution
strategies and best practice strategies for expanding cooperative operations all
hampered their role in job creation and sustainable livelihoods. The study makes
important recommendations to cooperatives management, the Department of Social
Development and the Municipality of Lepelle-Nkumpi for the purpose of strengthening the contribution of cooperatives to job creation and sustainable livelihoods.
