SMALL and Medium Enterprise Development Minister Elias Mubanga has announced that all cooperatives will be mandated to produce proof of their annual returns in order to access any form of government empowerment. Speaking at a press briefing, Thursday, Mubanga said the decision was necessitated by the continuous abrogation of the Cooperatives Act No. 2020 of 1998 by cooperatives who failed to submit annual returns. Mubanga disclosed that to compel the cooperative to submit annual returns, the SME ministry would collaborate with other line ministries providing empowerment funds. “In line with the cooperatives Society Act No. 20 of 1998, all registered cooperatives are mandated to file their annual returns at the end of each financial year. Unfortunately, over the years compliance...