Abstract:
The introduction and establishment of co-operatives by the State was for purposes of
fighting and alleviating poverty through creating jobs, particularly in the rural areas,which were mostly neglected by the previous apartheid State. In order to deal with these social ills and malady, the new democratic government introduced cooperatives
to mitigate these challenges. These good intensions are often countered by lack of commitment by State officials and reluctance from other institutions to assist co-operatives to be catalysts in fighting poverty and unemployment in South
Africa, despite their noble intentions. In other developed countries, co-operatives are
given serious attention, not only because they are catalysts in poverty alleviation, but because they can make huge economic interventions with regard to economic
growth and economic development.
The intention of this study was to make an assessment of whether or not agricultural
co-operatives have any economic impact on women in the rural areas of Polokwane
Municipality, since their inception as entities for local economic development. The
study also assesses whether or not the State supports these entities in a variety of
forms. For this purpose, four co-operatives have been used as a Case Study,namely, Mashashane Agricultural Co-operative at Ga-Mashashane; Phegelelo Agricultural Co-operative at Ga-Thaba village; Mothiba Agricultural Co-operative at Ga-Mothiba; and Itireleng Agricultural Co-operative at Matamanyane village in Moletjie
