NGO - COALITION FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS' RIGHTS

New Airline Passengers Rights Bill A Victory for US COALITION

Cries of the flying public are finally heard By eTN Jun 27, 2008

A new, separate Bill providing significant relief for air passengers from extended on-board delays was welcomed today by Kate Hanni, founder-president of the Coalition for Airline Passengers' Rights, Health and Safety, formerly Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights (CAPBOR). The new Bill, H.R. 6355, was introduced in Congress on June 24 by Congressman James Oberstar, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Congressman Jerry Costello, chairman of the Aviation subcommittee.

"Despite frustrations inevitably encountered in the process, we are delighted that passengers' rights are clearly now on the agenda of the House's appropriate leadership," Ms. Hanni said. "This Bill is intended to move passengers' rights legislation along on its own merit, since similar passenger legislation was already passed by the House in the FAA Reauthorization Act, which has become stalled in the Senate," she added.

H.R. 6355, the "Air Service Improvement Act of 2008," requires air carriers and large and medium hub airports to file emergency contingency plans with the Secretary of Transportation for her review and approval. The Secretary may establish minimum standards for plans and require airlines to modify the plans they submit. These plans must detail how the air carrier will provide food, water, restroom facilities, ventilation, and necessary medical treatment for passengers on board an aircraft that is on the ground for an extended time period without terminal access. The Coalition had fought hard for plans that required Transportation Department approval, as opposed to the voluntary plans the DOT, favored.

Airlines that do not comply are subject to a $25,000 per day penalty. The Bill will also establish an Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection.

The Coalition strongly urges everyone to contact his/her representative in Congress and insist that they co-sponsor H.R. 6355 to end the repeated incidents of passengers being held aboard airliners for prolonged periods without adequate food, water, ventilation and sanitary facilities.

The Coalition has 23,100 people and claims successes as the New York Passengers' Bill of Rights, 2 DOT Rulemakings; one doubled compensation for Denied Boarding and the correct reporting of Diversions and Cancellations when "Stranded" on the Tarmac.

CORRUPTION IN THE WATER SECTOR - CATALYST FOR WATER CRISIS

Corruption in the water sector is a root cause and catalyst for the global water crisis that threatens billions of lives and exacerbates environmental degradation, according to the Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector, released today by Transparency International (TI).

“Water is a resource without substitute. It is paramount to our health, our food security, our energy future and our ecosystem. But corruption plagues water management and use in all these areas,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.

The report, the first of its kind to explore the impact and scope of corruption in different segments of the water sector, identifies a range of problems, from petty bribery in water delivery to procurement-related looting of irrigation and hydropower funds; from covering up industrial pollution to manipulation of water management and allocation policies.

“Corruption’s impact on water is a fundamental governance problem, yet it is not sufficiently addressed in the many global policy initiatives for environmental sustainability, development, and food and energy security. This must change,” added Labelle.

The water crisis is undeniable and the corruption challenge it faces is urgent. More than 1 billion people worldwide have no guaranteed access to water and more than 2 billion are without adequate sanitation, which has devastating consequences for development and poverty reduction.

Corruption thwarts global response to climate change and global food shortage .

“Climate change requires the world to come up with what is likely to be the most far-reaching and complex global governance framework ever devised. Without addressing the corruption risks, especially as they relate to water, such plans stand on shaky ground”, said Labelle. The report demonstrates corruption’s potential to obstruct effective enforcement of water-sharing pacts and resettlement arrangements, both key to confronting the fallout from climate change.

Irrigated land helps produce 40 per cent of the world’s food, but corruption in irrigation is rampant. Addressing this risk is fundamental to increasing food production and tackling the global food crisis. “Massive new investments in irrigation have been announced worldwide to help counter the food crisis, yet water shortage means food shortage and if corruption in irrigation is not also addressed, these efforts will fall short,” stated Labelle.

For the Philippines, which has allocated close to US$1 billion for irrigation and related agricultural improvements, the report presents case evidence of how corruption has hindered the building and performance of irrigation dams. In India, a country at the centre of the crisis, corruption is estimated to add at least 25 per cent to irrigation contracts and the proceeds help maintain a corrupt system of political handouts and compromised oversight. In the end, investment costs rise, systems are rendered inefficient and small farmers are left especially vulnerable to water shortage.

Drinking water and sanitation: the poor carry the greatest burden .

When corruption occurs, the cost of connecting a household to a water network increases by up to 30 per cent, raising the price tag for achieving the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation by a staggering US$48 billion, according to expert estimates in the report.

Corruption in drinking water and sanitation emerges at every point along the water delivery chain; from policy design and budgeting to building, maintaining and operating water networks. It drains investment from the sector, increases prices and decreases water supplies. One result is that poor households in Jakarta, Lima, Nairobi or Manila spend more on water than residents of New York City, London or Rome.

Industrialised countries are not immune. Corruption has plagued the tendering of water contracts in cities like Grenoble, Milan, New Orleans and Atlanta. Likewise, cases of bid-rigging and price-fixing in water infrastructure provision have surfaced in Sweden, while in Chicago water budgets fell victim to misuse for political campaigning.

Risks for the environment and energy security

Corruption in water resources management undermines the sustainability of water supplies, fuels highly unequal water sharing which can incite political conflict and fosters the degradation of vital ecosystems. In China, for example, corruption has weakened the enforcement of environmental regulations, abetting the pollution of aquifers in 90 percent of cities and making over 75 per cent of urban rivers unsuitable for drinking or fishing.

Corruption in hydropower inflates the cost of dams and related projects. It also makes re-settlement more challenging by preying on compensation funds and initiatives meant to aid displaced people.

The stakes are high: hydropower accounts for one-sixth of the world’s electricity production and investment volumes are projected to reach US$60 billion annually over the next 20 years.

A time for action: solutions to clean up the water sector

Corrupt conditions in water persist because their greatest impact is exacted on those with the least chance of redress, disproportionately affecting women, the poor and those with no voice at all: future generations and the environment.

Nonetheless, as the Global Corruption Report shows, taking action against corruption in the water sector is both timely and feasible.

Key recommendations of the report include:

Establish transparency and participation as guiding principles for all aspects of water governance: From transparent budgeting and participatory policy-making to public mapping of water pollution, public audits of projects and access to contract terms and performance reports, transparency and participation strengthen integrity in water governance, but need to be adopted globally.

Strengthen regulatory oversight: Government and the public sector continue to play the most prominent role in water governance and should establish effective regulatory oversight, whether for the environment, water and sanitation, agriculture or energy.

Institutional reform and capacity-building are essential to bring oversight in water up to the standards already achieved in other sectors .

Ensure fair competition and accountable implementation of water projects: All stakeholders have a role to play. Contracts should incorporate anti-corruption measures. Governments and contractors can enter into agreements for fair public procurement. Lenders and donors must strengthen anti-bribery provisions in their due diligence requirements.

Transparency International, along with the International Water and Sanitation Centre, the Stockholm International Water Institute, the Swedish Water House and the Water and Sanitation Program-Africa founded the Water Integrity Network (WIN) in 2006.

Today WIN is a growing network of organisations and individuals that fights corruption in all parts of the water sector. The Global Corruption Report 2008 benefited from expert and financial support from WIN.

GENESIS OF A CONSUMER CO-OPERATIVE

Littleton businessmen Jeff Wheeler and Michael Claflin think North County consumers pay too much for their groceries and have too little choice.

And about a year and a half ago, they came up with a plan. “Right around Thanksgiving time we were lamenting the options for shopping and it suddenly struck us that maybe it would be worthwhile to try and see whether we could get something going in the form of a coop.”

It was a Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney moment: Let’s put on a show.

Now, in addition to their real jobs, Wheeler is president of the Littleton Consumer Cooperative Society and Claflin is vice president. They have no paid staff, but dozens of volunteers. And they’re making progress.

Even with no store to shop in yet, The Littleton co-op has more than 650 dues-paying members. It has a deal pending to buy a four-acre site at the corner of Route 302 and Cottage Street and a contractor ready to build. They’ve got a half million dollar grant from the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority.

“Someone will throw you a curveball every now and then but for the most part we have been very, very fortunate. Everybody has been upbeat, everybody has been, ‘Well if we can’t do it that way we will do it this way.’ So far, we have done quite well.”

But they are facing a critical challenge. That grant money depends on getting $450,000 in loans from co-op supporters. So far they are just over halfway there, but the deadline is September 1st. If that grant doesn’t come through then local banks will reconsider their promise of about 3 million dollars.

That money is needed to build the their 13 thou,500 square foot building.

Anne Reynolds is the assistant director at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives.

She says starting a coop is typically a struggle.

“Most people who work in coop development would say that cooperatives are perhaps harder to start than any other type of business but once they have been started their chance of success is greater than your typical small business.” Much of Claflin’s and Wheeler’s inspiration comes from down river in Hanover. There, the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society has been hugely successful.

SOUND OF PEOPLE SHOPPING AND STORE BUSTLE

This co-op was founded in 1936 during the depression. Then, seventeen families banded together, hoping to improve their purchasing power. Now, the Hanover Co-op has 300 employees, and they added a store in Lebanon in 1997.

Last year they did $66 million in business. Of that, nearly 3 quarters of a million dollars came back in profits. And members shared more than half a million dollars in refunds based on how much they spent during the year.

Littleton plans to operate under the same, classic co-op philosophy. That, says Anne Reynolds at the Center for Cooperatives, means giving the consumer the most for their money instead of trying to maximize profits. Reynolds: “They don’t have any incentive really to do anything except respond to their members needs and that takes that predatory aspect out of their business philosophy.” Another example of how a coop’s philosophy can be different shows up in The Lebanon store’s decision not to have a bakery.

Members considered baking in-house, but decided it would hurt local bakeries and consequently the community economy. Allan Reetz is a Hanover co-op spokesman.

“By making the choice not to build a bakery it might have hurt our bottom line a little bit but we also knew we would have great breads to offer members and customers alike and it is a better business practice for the health of the business community.”

Wheeler and Claflin want the Littleton coop to have the same kind of relationship with local businesses and farmers. They say the Littleton co-op should support the local economy, not try to dominate it. And by keeping their profit margins as low as possible they hope to keep prices down. If everything goes well the Littleton co-op hopes to open the store late this year or early in 2009.

CONFERENCE ON HOUSING, URBAN PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT

Dates: Dec 02, 2008 - Dec 04, 2008

Call for Papers :— Conference on Housing, Urban Poverty and Environment.

This is a call for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers working on housing, urban poverty and environment issues to participate in an upcoming IDRC-sponsored expert meeting to be held in Kampala, Uganda, on December 2-4, 2008.

According to the UN, humanity will reach a major demographic milestone in 2008, when the world’s population becomes predominantly urban for the first time in history. As the urbanization trend continues, in developing countries —in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular— it is likely to be characterized by increasing urban poverty and expanding slums.

At present, one billion people are slum dwellers, many who live in inadequate housing and with limited services, under health- and life-threatening circumstances that perpetuate cycles of poverty.UNFP’s 2007 State of World Population report emphasizes the tremendous influence that improving housing in urban areas can have on poverty reduction and the environment.

More than just providing shelter and safety, housing is also necessary for maintaining a minimum level of health and well being, and it can have profound effects on social and human development.

Housing can be considered a productive asset, as many of the productive and income-generating activities carried out by the urban poor take place within and around the home.

Housing is often the most valuable asset that poor urban dwellers acquire in their lifetimes.

Location: Kampala

Country: Uganda

CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING COMMUNITIES - ANOTHER UPCOMMING LADY HOUSING CO-OPERATOR

June 19, 2008

Last summer, while on retreat in southern France, Francoise Paradis decided that all the reading she had been doing about cooperative housing communities needed to become a reality for her.

So, she began to design Greensward Hamlet, a so-called co-housing community, which would be an environmentally friendly development using geothermal, solar and wind energy, where people would live in a tight-knit group, share meals in a common house and grow some of their food together.

Despite the feel-good nature of the new community, which would start being built in Buxton later this year, residents so far are not convinced that 20 condominiums at the end of a dirt road off Route 117 is the right direction for the neighborhood or the town in general.

Paradis' project, which would include unpaved roads and walking trails on nearly 30 acres at the end of Marshall Lane, faced opposition from neighbors when it went before the Planning Board last week.

“What are we giving away in Buxton?” Mel Howards asked the Planning Board during a public hearing June 9 on the project. Howards questioned Paradis' stated concern for building a community, while at the same time developing land in Buxton and stepping on the toes of the community that already lives there.

Paradis' opponents have gone as far as accusing her of deceiving the Buxton Planning Board, reasoning that the cost of a fossil-fuel-free development as Paradis proposed is too expensive to ever become a reality. Despite residents with concerns about the impact of a large development on well water, traffic, or simply the long-standing way of life in Buxton, the Planning Board has so far voted that the project is meeting the general requirements to go forward.

“I was a little surprised,” Paradis said, about the strength of opposition to her project voiced at the Planning Board meeting.

Paradis, who lives in Saco, is proposing to build five buildings with four condos in each, with a couple of attached, “in-law” apartments. And, perhaps most important for the style of the development, she also proposes a common house, where neighbors will be able to engage in community meals, meetings and activities.

The co-housing community is, according to Paradis, a decades-old living style developed first in Denmark. Many co-housing projects develop around a theme. Paradis' project — Greensward Hamlet — is focusing on sustainable living and a return to nature. The design includes harnessing energy from geothermal systems, solar panels and a small wind turbine called a Windspire. The geothermal design should keep any of the condo owners from having a heating bill.

Paradis hopes to be connected to “the grid” for electrical power, but expects that enough natural energy would be generated to power the development. Paradis is working to get the entire project LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“I think it is the way the world is going to go,” Susan King said about the sustainable nature of the project. King is a Gorham resident who has known Paradis for five years and participated in some focus groups Paradis organized to figure out what the cohousing community would look like. She isn't sure if she'll be able to purchase one of the condos, but she hopes to.

“The concept is out there, but what I find is that people don't really understand it,” King said.

There is one other co-housing community development in Maine, Two Echo Cohousing Community in Brunswick. Two other projects, one in Edgecomb and one in Gouldsboro, are also forming. There are some 900 projects across the country, but Paradis said only 113 are actually established.

At the Two Echo community in Brunswick, no cars are allowed up to where the houses wind around dirt paths. Gardens, trees, benches, picnic tables, and freshly chopped wood line the walkway.

With the sustainable approach to the project, Greensward Hamlet would likely attract people who are committed to gardening and cooking together, sharing community duties and being attuned to environmental issues. Smoking would be banned, alcohol discouraged, and carpooling and bicycling encouraged. The public would have access to some 18 acres of land webbed with hiking trails. Despite all the planned outreach and environmental goals, residents are concerned about the effect the development would have on those who live on the small dirt road where it would be located.

Because of the new residents and increased traffic, the town would require that Marshall Lane would have to be built up and paved. Lucy Gorham said at the meeting she feared she wouldn't be able to access the land she owns on both sides of the road unless culverts were installed at Paradis' expense. But it was pointed out that even then, the only town requirement is that two access points be installed on each side of the road.

Pat and Paulette Langevin operate Angels Retreat Assisted Living from their home at 50 Marshall Lane. They said are afraid the paving of the road and increased traffic would mean their elderly residents would no longer be able to walk down the road. They bought the home from Paradis, who used to operate her psychological services practice there.

"When we bought it, we bought it for the privacy," said Paulette Langevin. Next to the Langevins is Joyce Larrabbee, who said she never had a problem with Paradis in the five years Paradis lived next to her, but she didn't like the project when it was first proposed. She's still concerned about the traffic impact of 20 condos, and about water levels. She also asked how much one of the new condos was going to cost. Paradis did not have concrete numbers, but said a one-bedroom unit might be around $200,000.

However, for Howards, a neighbor though not an abutter, “the whole thing is a disaster.” Despite the character of the development, it's still a development of previously undeveloped land, he said.

Paradis sees the access she is offering to the trails and the sustainable nature of her project as being good things for both communities – the one she's creating and neighbors.

Residents also said they were concerned that Paradis clear-cut her property in 2005. Paradis responded that she regrets the clear-cutting and that it had been her intent to remove only old growth to let new growth flourish. She said the loggers "massacred" the property.

The Planning Board was not in agreement last week on whether the project mets the basic requirements for site plan approval. Voting on the individual standards at their meeting last week, one member, David Anderson, thought the project could adversely affect property values. Because only four of the seven board members were at the meeting - two were absent and James Logan recused himself due to conflict of interest- if just one other member had voted as Anderson did, the whole project would have failed.

Board members also disagreed over whether there was adequate fire protection, which also almost caused the project to be rejected.

But the Planning Board, after over an hour of discussion, gave Paradis approval for the project on the conditions that Paradis creates a back-up water supply for fire crews and installs culverts so Lucy Gorham can access her property. Paradis also has to get approval by the Department of Environmental Protection, which held a public hearing on Tuesday. Paradis said that application should come through within the next two months.

Brunswick residents raised concerns similar to the citizens in Buxton when Two Echo was forming, according to Doug Benner. He can see Two Echo across his back yard, which slopes down and then backs up to where 26 homes are built, tightly knit around the common house.

Kaplan Thompson Architects' rendering of Greensward Hamlet, a co-housing project proposed in Buxton. “Initially, I was quite opposed,” Benner said. “It was undeveloped farmland. But realistically, we could have had houses every two acres.” “As far as development goes, I think it's pretty darn good,” he said, noting that he would have preferred no development.“Everything they do that might affect us, or impose on us, they keep us advised,” he said. “It's a great place for kids.”

As for the worst of it, “there's some traffic, but it hasn't been horrendous.” Paradis is hoping to start moving people into the new development by next spring. She said she has five commitments from individuals to buy condos already, and another five are strongly interested. She expects all the units would bought within two years.

Co-housing communities are essentially sub-developments designed to engage its residents in shared activities. Whether the development consists of detached homes or condomiums, the living spaces are built around a common house, where residents join together for meals, have community meetings and make decisions together on what should happen in the community. Community vegetable gardens are often a central piece of the development plan.

For more information, visit the Cohousing Association of the United States' Web site at www.cohousing.org.

For more information on Francoise Paradis' Buxton project, see www.greenswardhamlet.com. Add your comments

TEACHERS' COOPERATIVES - PHILIPPINES

Iloilo City (18 June)

The Department of Education (DepEd) has committed itself to provide assistance to all teachers' cooperatives in the country to participate in the implementation of Negosyong Pang-Eskwela initially started in the national capital region and soon, nationwide.

Education Secretary Jeslie Lapus said in a press release, he affirmed this commitment to the development of teachers cooperatives whom he places much faith in its success.

The DepEd had recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Federation of Teachers Cooperatives (FTC) and other partner agencies like the Cooperative Development Authority, the Philippine Cooperative Center and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

The MOA stipulates that DepEd allows its teachers to join activities pertinent to the implementation of the project on official time, as necessary.

It also provides for the DepEd to encourage all school officials to support the projects necessary to promote and develop cooperatives in schools.

Lapus said establishing a cooperative is not a picnic, saying that as professionals, teachers are in the best position to illustrate the noble values of honesty, commitment and cooperation that they often teach their pupils and students.

He had asked the assistance of the PUP to design a practical training program in cooperative management for Negosyong Pang-Eskwela officers, to ensure the high quality of management of school cooperatives.

ALEXANDRA WILSON - CANADA'S VALIANT CO-OPERATOR

From a teenager fighting rental conversion to CEO of a national agency

MONTREAL, June 14

In 1974, when Alexandra Wilson was still a teenager, she led her fellow tenants in a fight to protect their heritage apartment complex in the Riverdal neighbourhood of Toronto. The tenants stopped the Bain Apartments from being redeveloped by buying the complex and converting it to a non-profit housing co-operative that is still providing affordable rental housing today. That accomplishment and the many that followed are the reason Alexandra Wilson will be named Honorary Life Associate by the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.

The presentation will take place this evening during CHF Canada's annual general meeting at the Westin Harbour Castle Convention Centre.

Today, Alexandra is Chief Executive Officer of the Agency for Co-operative Housing.

The Agency started in 2006 and administers federal co-operative housing programs in BC, Alberta, Ontario and PEI.She has given her time and expertise to many aspects of co-operative housing. After first working as Bain co-op's property manager, Alexandra joined the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto.

During her time as managing director of CHFT, membership doubled and hundreds of new co-op units were developed. When the federal government planned to end funding for non-profit co-op housing development, Alexandra was part of a team that proposed a new co-op housing program more affordable for government. The government approved the new ILM program that pioneered the use of index-linked mortgages in Canada.

After three years working in the International Affairs department of the Canadian Co-operative Association, she joined CHF Canada as executive director in 1990 .

In 1995, the federal government announced its intention to devolve responsibility for its housing programs and the co-operatives developed under them. Recognizing that this would harm the national co-operative housing movement, CHF Canada presented a proposal to government for an innovative, arm's-length agency to administer co-operative housing programs.After a national lobbying campaign by co-op members across Canada, the federal government stopped the devolution of co-op housing programs in most provinces.

The Agency for Co-operative Housing took on the administration of federal co-op programs in 2006. Alexandra has been an active housing co-op member in both Toronto and Ottawa.

She has served as CHF Canada's representative to the International Co-operative Alliance's Housing Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of The Co-operators.

PAKISTAN - WARNING FOR CAUTION INVESTING IN HOUSING

LAHORE,June 15 (APP):

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab has warned general public to observe utmost caution while making investment in housing and so-called lucrative prize schemes to circumvent changes of possible deceit and save their hard earned money.

Director General Punjab,Shah Nawaz Badar told APP here Sunday that as part of awareness plan, NAB has issued a comprehensive guideline for the general public to stay them away from fraudulent dealing in the housing sector and other so-called lucrative prize schemes as investigations have already been launched against various fake housing schemes.

These investigations were initiated on receipt of large number complaints by NAB.

According to the guideline, NAB has asked public not to pay heed to misleading advertisements/publicity campaign and physically examine the location of any proposed housing scheme, available land and the number of residential and commercial plots.

Those who are desirous of getting plots should check the registration and NOC for detailed lay-out plan issued by concerned development authorities i.e. CDA, RDA, LDA, TMA or Circle Registrar Cooperatives to the housing schemes.

As far the private builders, developers or construction companies are concerned, its registration and proper approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is mandatory for collecting amounts for housing scheme.

Shah Nawaz Badar said that moreover, the applicants must confirm that the company has acquired and taken possession of land, houses, flats and these have been fully developed before publication of advertisement.

While examining the file of a plot, exact plot number, street number,sector, phase number and development charges etc of the scheme are clearly mentioned and a proper development schedule/ completion date is provided as knowledge and vigilance is the best way to stay away from frauds, says the guideline. NAB has also asked the general public to submit their complaints along with documentary evidence for initiating proper probe against fake housing schemes.

DG said that a universal access numbers 042-111622622 and 042-9203630 upto four lines have been installed for lodging complaints against unscrupulous elements.

CREDIT CARD BURDENS IN THE USA

Obama Makes Appeal to Credit Card Debtors

By Susan JonesCNSNews.com Senior Editor

June 12, 2008 -

Burdened by credit card debt? It may not be your fault. Sen. Barack Obama says in many cases, the credit card companies are to blame for "pushing" financially strapped Americans "over the edge."

The banking industry disagrees.In a speech in Chicago Wednesday, Obama outlined his plan to "build an economy that works for all Americans." He spoke mostly about personal credit card debt, which he views as a problem with a government solution.

Obama says the sour economy is forcing Americans to put more and more of their debt onto credit cards. (The American Banking Association on its Web site debunks a number of "myths," including the notion that Americans are "up to their eyeballs" in credit card debt. In fact, the ABA says, only about 46 percent of all families carry a credit card balance while 54 percent pay their outstanding balance in full each month.

The ABA also points to a Government Accountability Office study showing that credit card balances as a percentage of total household debt have been declining since the mid-1990s.)Obama noted that while some people make "reckless decisions" -- buying luxury goods they know they can't afford

-- many more Americans aren't falling into debt because they made an irresponsible decision -- they're falling into debt because credit card companies are forcing them into it. He accused the credit card companies of using "unfair and deceptive" practices to trick Americans into signing agreements they can't afford." Or understand.Obama said card-holders must sign long, complex contracts that are filled with "traps and fine print that only a credit card executive could understand."

He said "Washington" has let the companies get away with it -- because those companies have "spent millions" on political campaigns and lobbyists who influence legislation beneficial to the card companies."This has to stop," Obama said. "We cannot let the rules of the game continue to be rigged against ordinary Americans.

We need a president who will look out for the interests of hardworking families, not just their big campaign donors and corporate allies."Obama accused Republican John McCain of siding with the credit card companies by supporting a bankruptcy bill that Obama opposed. (The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 made it more difficult for Americans to escape their debts through bankruptcy protection.

McCain called the bill "an important step toward a fair and balanced approach to restoring personal responsibility to our federal banking system.")Pending legislation in Congress -- a "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights" -- would protects cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases, due-date "gimmicks" and misleading terms.

Obama on Wednesday proposed his own "bill of rights.""I'll protect the rights of ordinary Americans by cracking down on companies that are trying to deceive them," Obama promised.

He said his plan begins with transparency -- helping Americans understand the risks involved in signing up for a credit card. To that end, he said he'd create a five-star rating system. "That way, Americans can compare credit card companies and avoid those that are stacking the deck against them."Obama said he'll propose a credit card bill of rights that would ban unilateral changes to credit card agreements. "You should pay the rate you signed up for. If the credit card company wants to raise that rate, you should be able to opt out of the agreement."

According to the American Banking Association, if consumers are unhappy with the interest rate or other terms, "there are thousands of issuers that would be happy to accept their business." The ABA says the consumers' "power of choice" to transfer outstanding balances "cannot be overstated."

It notes that hiking the interest rate allows credit card companies to "avoid taking on risks that are too high to maintain."Obama also wants to ban rate changes on past debt. "If a credit card company wants to raise interest rates, then that new, higher rate should apply to the debt you add going forward, not what you already owe."

And he would ban interest charges on transaction fees. "If you're late in making a payment, you have to pay a late fee. But you shouldn't be paying a fee for paying a fee.""It's time Washington established some rules of the road to level the playing field for hardworking families," Obama said.

"It's time we had an economy that worked for companies and consumers alike. That's what my campaign is all about."He said Americans have a "clear choice" in November -- "you can choose an approach that sides with the credit card companies...or you can choose to finally have a President who looks out for Main Street, not just Wall Street...""

Consumers are in complete control of how they use their credit cards," the ABA says on its Web site. It also says most bankruptcies in this country are not caused by credit card debt, but by life crises such as divorce, job loss, or uninsured illness.

CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING FOUNDATION OF CANADA

CO-OP HOUSING FEDERATION CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO SHOW LEADERSHIP ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN

In the wake of newly released Census figures showing that lower-income Canadians are struggling more than ever to pay for their housing, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) is calling on the government to take a leadership role in developing a national affordable action plan, in consultation with the provinces, territories, municipalities, and major housing stakeholder groups.

“The Conservative government has been in power for nearly two and a half years, and the number of Canadians paying more than they can afford on housing has increased,” says CHF Canada Executive Director Nicholas Gazzard. “A positive first step would be for the federal government to provide some predictability for affordable housing providers, such as non-profit housing co-operatives, and immediately renew the major national housing programs that are set to expire on March 31, 2009, less than one-year from now.”

AGREEMENT REACHED ON COMMON WORLDWIDE THEME FOR CO-OP WEEK/CREDIT UNION DAY

Demonstrating true co-operation at an international level, this year’s theme for Co-op Week and International Credit Union Day was chosen by a US/Canadian committee representing credit unions and co-operatives worldwide. To promote worldwide involvement, the multi-national committee invited its member organizations to submit suggestions for the 2008 theme. Laquita Normore, marketing and communications manager for Eagle River Credit Union, in L’Anse au Loup, NL, submitted It Belongs to Me. The French version of the theme is: Coopérer c’est s’enrichir mutuellement.

Co-op Week will be celebrated October 12–18 this year, with International Credit Union day recognized on October 16.

CUMIS HELPS CREDIT UNION EXECUTIVES WITH SUCCESSION AND RETIREMENT PLANNING

CUMIS Insurance’s Strategic Solutions Group has developed an information forum to support credit unions’ human resources strategies for retaining mature workers and attracting and retaining high-talent individuals. It also helps credit union leaders identify their personal priorities and embrace the possibilities available to them in their work environments or as they transition from work to individual pursuits.

NEW PRESIDENT EXPLAINS ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DESJARDINS IN QUEBEC

In her first major public appearance, Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President & CEO of Desjardins Group, discussed the economic impact of the co-op on the Quebec economy with members of the Lévis, QC, Chamber of Commerce, May 30.

Citing preliminary results of a study currently being conducted by the Desjardins Economic Studies, Ms. Leroux said Desjardins generates $4.2 billion worth of operating expenses in Quebec.

“With the 40,000 existing jobs at Desjardins, the jobs it contributes to creating for its many suppliers and the jobs generated in turn by all these job holders through their consumer spending, we can see that Desjardins alone is responsible for creating close to 68,000 full-time jobs in Quebec. And that represents a ratio of one to fifty jobs,” she concluded.

CREDIT UNION CENTRAL OF CANADA APPOINTS VICE PRESIDENT, POLICY

Credit Union Central of Canada (Canadian Central) has named Brigitte Goulard to the new position of Vice President, Policy, effective June 16. Ms. Goulard will work with the Canadian Central Board, senior management, and member organizations in identifying and taking action on current policy priorities of importance to the Canadian credit union system.

A member of the Ottawa bar, Ms. Goulard is an experienced policy professional in the Canadian financial services industry having been employed in legal and policy roles with the Trust Companies Association of Canada, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, Canada Trust, and, most recently, with La Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec. Ms. Goulard also worked with Meloche Monnex Inc. for several years and during that time held the position of Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION - HUMAN RIGHT

The “Right to Information” is a Fundamental Human Right

The Right to Information is the key to Democracy and Development

(This paper is extracted from other sources in the Web and the Railway Co-operatives acknowledge its members' indebtedness for the opportunity to cicrulate this article to all Cooperators wherever they may be. )

- Making participatory democracy meaningful

- Cementing Trust In Government

- Supporting People-Centred Development

- Facilitating Equitable Economic Growth

- Tackling Corruption

- Bolstering Media Capacity

This is the age of information affluence. Technology, with its capacity for storing, simplifying and communicating information with astonishing speed has, more than ever, put information at the centre of development. Information is a global resource of unlimited potential for all.

Importantly, information belongs not to the state, the government of the day or civil servants, but to the public.

Officials do not create information for their own benefit alone, but for the benefit of the public they serve, as part of the legitimate and routine discharge of the government’s duties.

Information is generated with public money by public servants paid out of public funds.

Therefore, it cannot be unreasonably kept from citizens.The Right to Information is a Fundamental Human RightLack of information denies people the opportunity to develop their potential to the fullest and realise the full range of their human rights.

Individual personality, political and social identity and economic capability are all shaped by the information that is available to each person and to society at large. The practice of routinely holding information away from the public creates ‘subjects’ rather than ‘citizens’ and is a violation of their rights.

This was recognised by the United Nations at its very inception in 1946, when the General Assembly resolved: “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone for all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated”.

Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right’s status as a legally binding treaty obligation was affirmed in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” This has placed the right to access information firmly within the body of universal human rights law.

The right to access information underpins all other human rights.

For example, freedom of expression and thought inherently rely on the availability of adequate information to inform opinions. The realisation of the right to personal safety also requires that people have sufficient information to protect themselves. In Canada, a court has recognised that the right to security creates a corollary right to information about threats to personal safety which would be violated if the police force knew of a threat and failed to provide that information to the threatened individual.

The right to food is also often reliant on the right to information. In India for example, people have used access laws to find out about their ration entitlements and to expose the fraudulent distribution of food grains. Quite simply, the right to information is at the core of the human rights system because it enables citizens to more meaningfully exercise their rights, assess when their rights are at risk and determine who is responsible for any violations.

It is important that access to information is recognised as a right because it:

• Accords it sufficient importance, as being inherent to democratic functioning and a pre-condition to good governance and the realisation of all other human rights.

• Becomes part of the accepted international obligations of the state. This means that the right to access information attracts the guarantee of protection by the state.

• Distances it from being merely an administrative measure by which information is gifted by governments to their people at their discretion since a legally enforceable right cannot be narrowed or ignored at the whim of government.

• Creates a duty-holder on the one hand and a beneficiary of a legal entitlement on the other.Non-disclosure of information is therefore a violation and the beneficiary can seek legal remedy.

• Signals that information belongs to the public and not government. The idea that everything is secret unless there is a strong reason for releasing it is replaced by the idea that all information is available unless there are strong reasons for denying it. The onus is on the duty-holder to prove its case for refusing to disclose documents.

• Sets a higher standard of accountability.

• Gives citizens the legal power to attack the legal and institutional impediments to openness and accountability that still dominate the operations of many governments. It moves the locus of control from the state to the citizen, reinstating the citizen as sovereign.

The right to information holds within it the right to seek information, as well as the duty to give information, to store, organise, and make it easily available, and to withhold it only when it is proven that this is in the best public interest. The duty to enable access to information rests with government and encompasses two key aspects: enabling citizens to access information upon request; and proactively disseminating important information.

When is private…public?

In a world where non-state actors – such as public or private corporations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), quasi non-government organisations and international institutions – influence the destinies of millions, the ambit of the right to information needs to encompass more than just governments.

Some Commonwealth countries have extended the coverage of their laws to some private bodies , recognising that the issue needs to be “resolved by reference to its role in protecting the fundamental interests of citizens, and not by reference to the provenance or structural characteristics of the institution holding the contested information.”

As more and more public functions, like provision of health care, supply of water, power and transport, and even prison management, are privatised, people need to be able to get information from the bodies performing these services.Often, agreements between government and service providers do not require them to make information about their activities available. This removes information from the public domain that would otherwise have been covered under access laws. Even where private bodies are not providing public services, their activities need to be open to public scrutiny if they affect people’s rights.For example, the public should be able to access information on a factory’s environmental management policies to ensure the factory is managing toxic waste appropriately and therefore, not diminishing their right to health.

The Right to Information is the key to Democracy and Development

The reluctance of so many member countries to enshrine the right to access information is surprising considering open government offers the key to deepening democracy and quickening development that the Commonwealth is so desperately seeking.

The right to information lays the foundation upon which to build good governance, transparency, accountability and participation, and to eliminate that scourge upon the poor – corruption.As such, it should be embraced as much by the hard-headed economist as by the high-minded reformer.

Making participatory democracy meaningful

To be a member of the Commonwealth, a country must comply with the values and principles set out in the 1991 Harare Declaration, which recognises “the individual's inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which he or she lives.” While all members of the Commonwealth have made that commitment to democracy, in many countries the democratic principles of good governance, transparency and accountability are largely absent.

The fact is that periodic elections and a functioning bureaucracy do not in themselves ensure that governments are responsive and inclusive. Something more is needed. Access to information is the key for moving from formal to consultative and responsive democracy. In 2002, the Commonwealth Law Ministers specifically recognise that “the right to access information was an important aspect of democratic accountability and promoted transparency and encouraged full participation of citizens in the democratic process.”

Information is often withheld even when people are engaged in exercising that most basic of democratic rights, the vote. In the absence of a continuous flow of information that accurately reveals how ministries are functioning, how politicians have performed or the experience and qualifications of new candidates, elections may end up promoting only narrow interests as voters fall back on tribal, clan, religious or class affiliations as the basis for their choice.

Likewise, in the absence of a right to scrutinise the financial details of political party funding – some of it no more than bribes – citizens are unable to ensure that special interest groups, including criminal elements, do not co-opt their representatives for private gain. Better-informed voters mean better-informed choices, more responsive legislators and better governance.

Cementing Trust In Government

Democracy and national stability are enhanced by policies of openness which engender greater public trust in their representatives. This is a crucial aspect of effective governance – without the support and trust of the people, governments will be more likely to face resistance to their policies and programs and implementation will be more difficult.

A Commonwealth Foundation study in 1999 which sought the views of some 10,000 citizens in over 47 Commonwealth countries has shown that there is a growing disillusionment of citizens with their governments:“Citizens are suspicious of the motives and intentions of their governments. They feel ignored or even betrayed by their elected representatives. Indeed, they feel suspicious of the very programmes and agencies created to meet the needs they have. They feel neglected, ignored and uncared for.”

The integrity of governments needs to improve – and be seen to improve. Open government and access to information provide a means of achieving both these ends.Over the years, instability and conflict have resulted in huge setbacks to development in the Commonwealth.

Enhancing people’s trust in their government goes some way to minimising the likelihood of conflict. Openness and information-sharing contribute to national stability by establishing a two-way dialogue between citizens and the state, reducing distance between government and people and thereby combating feelings of alienation. Systems that enable people to be part of, and personally scrutinise, decision-making processes reduce citizens’ feelings of powerlessness and weaken perceptions of exclusion from opportunity or unfair advantage of one group over another.

Supporting People-Centred Development

At the turn of the century, all members of the Commonwealth came together in their broader membership of the United Nations and pledged their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the most comprehensive poverty reduction and development agenda the international community has ever forged.At Coolum in 2002, the Commonwealth Heads of Government made a commitment “to work to eliminate poverty, to promote people-centred and sustainable development, and thus progressively to remove the wide disparities in living standards among us” .

Sadly, in 2003, poverty remains the hallmark of the Commonwealth. Almost two thirds of the people living in the Commonwealth still live on less than $2 a day.Half of the 130 million children in the world who do not have access to primary education live in the Commonwealth. Sixty per cent of HIV/AIDS cases worldwide are found in the Commonwealth. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (home to more than 85% of the Commonwealth) have within them the largest concentrations of hungry people in the world.

With just seven years to go to reach the MDG targets, many countries are slipping far behind schedule.The sad fact is that while poor people throughout the Commonwealth have strong views on their own development destinies , they remain excluded. Tragically, this has resulted in governments taking advantage of the marginalised populations they should be helping.

For example, from the Pacific to Africa to South Asia, the rural poor and indigenous communities who are so heavily reliant on their local natural resources for survival have often been excluded from decisions about their use and sale which have been made by governments dominated by the urban elite who have then co-opted the benefits.

Likewise, women, who battle discrimination across the Commonwealth, continue to be ignored and their contribution to development undervalued. With assured information, marginalised groups will be given their rightful voice and a powerful tool to scrutinise and engage with the development processes being directed at them.

Much of the failure of poverty reduction and development strategies to date can be attributed to the fact that, for years, they have been designed behind closed doors by governments who consulted with ‘experts’ but shut out the very people who were supposed to benefit. Even a parliamentarian in Ghana complained that the interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper required by the World Bank, as well as crucial decisions to take advantage of the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative which will affect government policy directions for years to come, were not referred to Parliament at large. Donors have been complicit in keeping development planning processes closed.

Multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are now beginning to open up following pressure from civil society groups, but much more work still needs to be done.Facilitating Equitable Economic Growth

The Commonwealth is relying on free markets to quicken development. But markets, like governments, do not function well in secret. Openness encourages a political and economic environment more conducive to the free market tenets of ‘perfect information’ and ‘perfect competition’.

Foreign and local investors need to be able to rely on the routine availability of timely and accurate information about government policies, the operation of regulatory authorities and financial institutions and the criteria used to award tenders, provide licences and give credit.Easy access to fulsome information that is not mired in bureaucratic processes creates long-term investor confidence in the local economic environment.

A guaranteed right to information lays the foundation for market-friendly good governance principles of transparency and accountability, which in turn encourage strong growth.Not merely economic growth, but also economic equity is promoted by access to information. At Coolum in 2002, the Commonwealth called on governments to “work to reduce the growing gap between rich and poor” and declared that “the benefits of globalisation must be shared more widely and its focus channelled for the elimination of poverty and human deprivation.” The liberation from government of information that would otherwise have remained unutilised increases economic opportunity for the less powerful as much as for the big player.

A worker can access information about labour regulations and their entitlements, a businessperson can find out about licensing requirements, taxation and trade regulations; and farmers can get hold of land records, market trend analysis and pricing information.

Tackling Corruption

A guaranteed right to access information is an essential and practical antidote to corruption, which is rife in too many Commonwealth countries.

Corruption is destroying the rule of law and has created a mutually supporting class of overlords who need secrecy to hide their dark deeds in dark places. In the worst instances, it has led to the ‘criminalisation of politics’ and ‘the politicisation of criminals’, turning elections into futile exercises which merely legitimise bad governance and bad governors.

Corruption is leaching away the economic lifeblood of many Commonwealth societies.The World Bank estimates that corruption can reduce a country's growth rate by 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points per year.Transparency International estimates that over $30 billion in aid for Africa – an amount twice the annual gross domestic product of Ghana, Kenya and Uganda combined – has ended up in foreign bank accounts.

The need to give ‘speed money’, ‘grease’ or ‘baksheesh’ in return for public services or rightful entitlements amounts to an additional illegal tax. Corruption is especially severe on the poor, who are least capable of paying the extra costs associated with bribery and fraud or surviving the embezzlement of scarce public resources.It is not coincidental that countries perceived to have the most corrupt governments also have the lowest levels of development or that countries with access to information laws are also perceived to be the least corrupt.

In 2002, of the ten countries scoring best in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index, no fewer than eight had effective legislation enabling the public to see government files. Of the ten countries perceived to be the worst in terms of corruption, not even one had a functioning access to information regime.

The right to access information acts as a source of light to be shone on the murky deals and shady transactions that litter corrupt governments. It enables civil society and especially the media to peel back the layers of bureaucratic red tape and political sleight of hand and get to the ‘hard facts.’

Bolstering Media Capacity

In robust democracies, the media acts as a watchdog, scrutinising the powerful and exposing mismanagement and corruption. It is also the foremost means of distributing information; where illiteracy is widespread, radio and television have become vital communication links.Unfortunately, this power to reach the masses has often been perceived as a threat by closed governments, which have carefully regulated private ownership of the press and attempted to curb the media’s ability to gather news, investigate and inform.

Zimbabwe’s repeated attempts to close the independent Daily News newspaper is an example of this sinister tendency. Satellite television and the internet are making slow inroads, but even the content of these are sometimes restricted.

Where the media is unable to get reliable information held by governments and other powerful interests, it cannot fulfil its role to the best of its abilities. Journalists are left to depend on leaks and luck or to rely on press releases and voluntary disclosures provided by the very people they are seeking to investigate.

Lack of access to information also leaves reporters open to government allegations that their stories are inaccurate and reliant on rumour and half-truths instead of facts.A sound access regime provides a framework within which the media can seek, receive and impart essential information accurately and is as much in the interests of government as it is of the people.

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIVES TRADE PROMOTION ORGANISATION

Iran suggests ICA to form International Co-operatives Trade Promotion Organisation.

Iran’s Chamber of Cooperatives Secretary General has put forward the suggestion for the establishment of an international cooperatives trade promotion organization to the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).

Mohammad-Reza Ramezani made the suggestion in the two-day ICA extraordinary general assembly meeting which was held in Rome during June 5-6, 2008. “Cooperatives are self-motivated and human-based entities the function of which is more perceivable in critical situations and they can act as public and comprehensive organizations towards materialization of global development in this millennium.”

“Nowadays, cooperatives can prove their key role more than the past in economic and social developments of societies in the 21st centaury,” he added.

“With nearly one billion members throughout the world, the ICA can illustrate its capacities in different economic and social fields,” Ramezani explained. He remarked that that the ICA should consider the facing challenges towards globalization, support of trade and economic activities in national and international levels, and promotion of trade between cooperatives in order to meet it’s members requirements.

Two hundred eighty four delegates from 120 countries met in Rome to discuss and decide on a series of restructuring proposals, changes to the ICA Rules.

They adopted all recommendations included in the ICA Restructuring Report as proposed and unanimously approved new and amended ICA rules and by-laws which include a new subscription and voting system.

Members further unanimously elected Mr. Won-Byung Choi of the National Agricultural Co-operative Federation of Korea (NACF) to the ICA Board.

ICA is an independent, non-governmental association which unites, represents and serves co-operatives worldwide. Founded in 1895, ICA has 226 member organizations from 88 countries active in all sectors of the economy. Together these co-operatives represent more than 800 million individuals worldwide.

NATIONAL HOUSING BANK OF INDIA - REINVENTING ITSELF

The National Housing Bank is in the process of reinventing itself to offer new housing finance instruments that will encourage institutional credit to rural housing, the urban poor and middle income group

— the ‘unserved and the underserved’ market segments in the real-estate sector, says Mr S. Sridhar, Chairman and Managing Director, National Housing Bank.

From the primary focus on refinance at the time of NHB’s launch in 1980s, the bank’s role will increasingly be that of an interface between the banks, housing finance institutions, cooperative sector and microfinance institution and the borrowers, to offer new instruments to the weaker segments of the market. The challenge for the financial system now is to ensure flow of institutional credit to the low-income group and the economically weaker sections. NHB would offer viable and bankable options in which it would also participate to reinforce credit support to the poor.

More than refinance NHB, Mr Sridhar says, has to look to being more than a refinance institution for housing loan institutions. At current market rates, it is not a preferred refinance option for the banks. NHB, which borrows from the market, refinances at 8.25-9.75 per cent. It raised Rs 13,200 crore last year against Rs 11,000 crore in the previous year. Its disbursements last year were Rs 9,000 crore.

The total housing loan portfolio of banks and housing finance institutions is about Rs 3 lakh crore of which NHBs outstanding portfolio is about 6.5 per cent, about Rs 23,000 crore.New funding avenues — to launch term deposit NHB’s source of funds till 2006 was through capital gain bonds but following the withdrawal of these instruments by the Government, it is raising funds through market bonds and commercial paper. It soon hopes to launch a term deposit scheme. It is also looking at introducing new products for mortgage guarantee to share bank’s risk in giving housing loans and supporting them through risk mitigation. This will help banks widen their support to the lower income groups and provide higher loan margins. NHB will soon float a credit guarantee company, he says. Mortgage-backed securities also have to be introduced to make available funds at competitive rates. Funds for housing loans cannot just be from banks’ deposits but they need to look at the secondary market, which is possible with mortgage-backed securities.

Bank and housing finance institutions can offer the loans as negotiable instruments to players in the capital market — provident funds, insurance companies and mutual funds. The long tenure of life insurance and housing loans make for a good asset liability matching, Mr Sridhar says.

Market study

To enable a wider reach of the institutional credit, the NHB is studying the market to assess the sections that have been left out of credit support.

It is looking at various options to promote rural housing — through self-help groups, involving NGOs, micro finance institutions and Trusts — and housing for the urban poor.

It has mapped the poor segment, ranging from families with an income of Rs 10,000 a month that can support a loan of about Rs 3 lakh, to middle-income group families that can borrow up to Rs 30 lakh. These are the segments where the demand volumes are huge but supply is low.Urban Housing Government statistics show that there is a shortage of over 24.7 million in housing in the urban areas and by 2012 the gap would increase to about 26.5 million. This is despite the growth in the housing sector and housing finance and the shortage is predominantly in the lower-income group.

Mr Sridhar says the bank is looking at supporting housing loans of up to Rs 30-35 lakh and is in discussions with banks and builders’ associations.

To be fair to the builders, Mr Sridhar says, it has to be acknowledged that land values have increased to levels that make it unviable for projects at this level. Government support is needed to make prices affordable. If a township is located further away from the city, then an efficient public transport system has to be in place. Industrial and commercial centres outside cities need to be developed with adequate housing.

Government can play an important role by making land available to the private sector but ensuring that a portion of the project is earmarked for housing for low-cost and middle-income people. Or it can make available cheap land to the developers but ensure that the entire project is devoted to the middle and low-income group.

Rural Housing In rural housing, where the estimated shortage is a conservative 7 million, the NHB will encourage finance companies to extend their markets to rural housing.

It will take an equity share of up to 25 per cent in such rural housing finance companies to support them. NHB is also developing a housing loan product that will operate through SHGs. It has one programme in Andhra Pradesh and will soon be launching another in Tamil Nadu where NHB will support rural housing through SHGs.

In Rangareddy District in Andhra Pradesh, it hopes to construct over 1,500 houses with community participation. In Tamil Nadu, a similar scheme is to be launched soon in Sivagangai District at a cost of Rs 15 crore, to build 1,100 houses.

CONFERENCE ON HOUSING, URBAN POVERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Conference on Housing, Urban Poverty and Environment

Dates: Dec 02, 2008 - Dec 04, 2008

Call for Papers — Conference on Housing, Urban Poverty and Environment. This is a call for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers working on housing, urban poverty and environment issues to participate in an upcoming IDRC-sponsored expert meeting to be held in Kampala, Uganda, on December 2-4, 2008.

Background

According to the UN[1], humanity will reach a major demographic milestone in 2008, when the world’s population becomes predominantly urban for the first time in history. As the urbanization trend continues, in developing countries —in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular— it is likely to be characterized by increasing urban poverty and expanding slums. At present, one billion people are slum dwellers, many who live in inadequate housing and with limited services, under health- and life-threatening circumstances that perpetuate cycles of poverty[2].

UNFP’s 2007 State of World Population report emphasizes the tremendous influence that improving housing in urban areas can have on poverty reduction and the environment. More than just providing shelter and safety, housing is also necessary for maintaining a minimum level of health and well being, and it can have profound effects on social and human development.

Housing can be considered a productive asset, as many of the productive and income-generating activities carried out by the urban poor take place within and around the home. Housing is often the most valuable asset that poor urban dwellers acquire in their lifetimes.

Location: Kampala

Country: Uganda

Source: Environment and Natural Resource Management

HOUSING COOPERATIVES IN MALAYSIA - A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVES IN THE PROVISION OF HOUSING IN MALAYSIA Dr. Alip Rahim, Abu Hassan Abu Bakar and Dr. Abdul Mutalip Abdullah School of Housing, Building and Planning

Universiti Sains Malaysia

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Of all the basic needs that has attracted attention of development strategiest, housing has received the major attention. The focus has been on the housing supply system for the urban population especially the urban poor. Studies, have clearly show that there is a continum of housing supply system from the private sector to the popular and public sector . Each of these supply system is competing for the limited resources of land, labour, materials and capital and each of the supply system are existing within a complex local forces as well as linked to a broader national and even international patterns of development. It is the intention of this paper to address the role of one of these housing supply system.

This paper attempts to examine the role of cooperatives in the provision of housing in Malaysia. In the following sections of this paper we discuss the production and concumption sphere of cooperative housing. It begins with a general discussion of the history of cooperatives in Malaysia to situate the changing role of cooperative within the national economy and their role in the provision of housing. This is followed by highlighting their distribution in Malaysia. This is accompanied by a general discussion of the production and consumption sphere of cooperative housing with particular emphasise on the success and failures of cooperative role in the provision of housing.

2.0 DEFINITION OF HOUSING COOPERATIVES

There are various types of housing cooperatives . The housing cooperatives as practise in Malaysia refers to cooperatives that ‘acquire land, develop them and construct homes and ultimately transfer them to members when loans are fully and completely settled. The members then take full control and enjoy complete ownership.”

However, according to Haji Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Wahab (the Registrar General of Cooperatives) there are other characteristic of a housing cooperatives which are explicit in the following quotations. - “the housing cooperatives act as “an agent for the members who themselves are the developers desiring to undertake the acquisition of land, preparing of sites and constructional of houses jointly with the view of reducing costs”. - “the society executes contracts on behalf of members with third parties for the purchase, acquisition and development of land, the building of houses, the provision of facilities and the installation of supplies”. - “the house are erected for the developers to own and dwell in” (Section 218 of the Housing Developers Control and Licensing Act, 1966 logically exempts housing cooperatives from all its provisions) - “the housing cooperatives must comply with the Cooperatives Act of 1949 in order to be registered. The act stipulates that members must not be less than 100 Persons and they must have mutual interest that can be enhanced by cooperative set-up. - “the society is first and foremost owned by its members, is autonomous and m anaged by a Board of Directors elected at the Annual General Meeting”. - “the cooperative has a by-law allowing it to own land, receive spesific deposits from members for the purpose of meeting the costs of land the construction of house. It can also borrow funds outside to finance its housing projects."

Based on this definition one can conceptualised housing cooperatives are not just physical entities but a particular life style and value system where members are expect to uphold and cheris such as sharing, self help, mutual support, social and economic cooperation and interdependence. Members involvement in policy planning, construction, managing the cooperatives economic and social affairs wil help to reinforce values of cooperative living.

3.0 OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVE AND HOUSING

3.1 The Early Period 1920 – 1957

The cooperative movement was introduced in Malaya by the colonial government in 1909. The cooperative movement take root in 1922 initiated by the colonial government in response to rural problems relating to credit and indebtness . Hence the earliest societies to be formed were rural credit societies for the peasants, farmers and fishermen. The thinking was that the societies would help to eliminate exploitative middlemen credit sources. Besides the establishemts of credit societies, efforts were directed at forming marketing societies in 1930.

In urban areas there was the development of Thrift and Loan Societies particularly for government servants and latter the demand for consumer societies mainly from the members of the Thrift and Loan Societies .

After the war although there were changes in the colonial policy towards the role of cooperatives, the preoccupation of cooperatives with indebtness was still emphasised. In the post war period saw the establishments of agricultural cooperatives, which was part of the government plans to cooperativise the rural economy. The aim was to nuture and develop an independent society based on the cooperative principles. The creating of RIDA (Rural and Industrial Development Authority) in 1950 help to facilitate the objective of cooperative through self and intergrated rural development. The cooperative expansion into marketing societies expanded from 6 in 1947 to 257 in 1956 whilst for the consumer society in 1956 it was 239 from 7 in 1947 .

Hence, initially the role of cooperative was centered in the rural areas mainly in provision of credits and in marketing. However, with changing socio-economic activities as a result of the war and the rapidly changing urban pattern because of rral urban migration and also the rapid growth of population in urban areas lead to a serious shortage of accomodation . The widespread urban housing problem received the serious attention of the cooperative movement and was addressed and discussed in conferences organised by the movement.

Consequently the cooperative movement were increasingly drawn ino the housing questions . Although the role of housing cooperative in Malaysia started after the war, Thrift and Loan Societies, especially those well established ones had introduced provisions in their constitution to provide mortage loans to enable their members to own homes even prior to the war. The importance of Thrift and Loan Societies during the period of 1925 – 1931 is shown by the total loan given out from 577,057 ringgit to 1,964,022 million ringgit for social and productive investment. This was between 90 – 98 per cent of the aggregate loans, Hawa Mohammed Salleh (1987-29) documents the socially productive expenditure of the Thrift and Loan Societies in the form of land purchases, cultivation expenses, rent assessment and house purchase and repairs. However, these societies ability to undertake such activities were limited because of their short term credit organisation and hence required adequate liquidity funds at all times to issue loans and to refund shares or subscriptions to members as and when required. The amount set aside for mortgage loans were limited to between 25 to 3 per cent of the subscribed capital. In view of this problem and the realisation of the need to extend housing development, the cooperative movement saw the needs for establishing a housing cooperatives. The Cooperative Movement felt it was necessary to establish cooperative specialising in housing construction having powers to raise sum of money and retaining within themselves experienced personnel, knowledgeable in matters relating to long term finnancing, costing, contracts and building works .

3.2 The Period of Expansion of Housing Cooperatives in 1949 – 1970

The first housing cooperative Teluk Anson English School Teachers’ Housing cooperative was registered on April 9th. 1949 and this was followed seven month later by the Kuala Lumpur Housing Cooperative with a membership of 330 and share capital of MR21,700.

With Malaya achieving Independence in 1957 the number of housing cooperatives grew from 2 in 1949 to 30 with an asset of 62 million ringgit .

The reason for this growth was that the housing cooperatives was the housing cooperatives was the alternative housing delivery system in a situation where there were shortage of cheap houses and the related problem of exorbitant charges on loans with short repayment periods .

The manifold increase of housing cooperatives can also be attributed to the setting up of Housing Trust in 1950 based on the Housing Trust Ordinance No. 62 1950 and the formation of the Federation of Cooperative Housing Societies.

The Jabatan Pembangunan Koperasi provides technical assistance and advises as well as source of finance to the cooperatives in addition to its larger function providing house at the national level. The Federation of Housing Cooperatives on the otherhand was set up to coordinate the housing cooperatives and to negotiate with the government for more expeditious alienation of land to the societies and to provide technical experts (Federation of Malaya Annual Report 1957). However, the success of the Federation was questionable. For example in 1965 only 14 housing societies were affiliated and this represented a concentration of 30 per cent. In a five year period from 1961 to 1965, they were neither report or statement on the numbers of loan given out nor any housing activity. Hence, the society exists in name only.

The role of the government was also important in providing the impetus for growth through the alienation of land to the cooperative for housing. The other important factor for the growth was the credit and finances through the Thrift and Loan Societies afforded to the cooperative, since most of the members of housing cooperatives were also members of Thrift and Loan Societies. The link allowed the flow of finance to the housing cooperative. Towards the later stage, the establishment of Central Cooperative Bank facilitated further the channeling of resources from the Thrift and Loan Societies to the housing cooperatives. The bank policy was to provide loans to the housing cooperatives up to two third of the asset at interest rate of 8 percent per year and pay back period of 15 years.

Between 1957 to 1965 the economic and political situation in Malaya was more stable and through the two five plan – First Malaya Plan (1956-1960) and especially in the Second Malaya Plan (1960-1965) housing received the government’s attention. Housing cooperative was still considered as an important housing delivery system along with the major production system of the Housing Trust. Hence, the growth of housing cooperative was still rapid from 30 in 1957 to in 1964 but less than the figure recorded between 1949 to 1957 from 2 to 30. This substantial growth was still possible inspite of the government policy emphasise was on the rural and agro-based cooperatives. In 1963 for example the number of housing cooperatives was 40 with membership of 5,255 and a working capital of nearly 12 million ringgit.

The establishment of the Cooperative Central Bank in 1958 to mobilise funds from individuals and member societies was also responsible for the increasing number of h ousing cooperative formed. After three years of its establishment, the CCB comprosed of 36 urban Thrift and Loan Societies, 10 cooperative housing societies and one cooperative insurance society.

In 1963 there were 57 urban cooperative societies as members of CCB and 1970 there were 102 urban societies as members and 1,423 individual members. The bank continue to provide loans for cooperative societies to undertake various development projects and also grant loans for individual to purchase house. The figure indicates the important of Cooperative Central Bank in the provision of funds to cooperative housing.

Most the housing cooperatives in the early years raised funds from commercial bank and other financial insitutions by mortgaging their housing schemes. In 1960’s the housing cooperatives faced with difficulty in obtaining loans began to expand their fund based by launching their own deposit scheme to attract new savings. The other method as mentioned earlier was through loans from the Cooperative Central Bank and the Malaysia Cooperative Insurance Society.

The housing cooperative increased further from 47 in 1964 to 66 in 1967. The government also plays an important role in the expansion of housing cooperatives by providing the largest allocation of development funds to housing cooperatives as compare to the other types of cooperatives. The housing cooperative operate on a large scale. Membership subcription is not sufficient to permit these operations. Subscribed capital provide less than 1/5 of working capital. For large part of their capital, housing cooperatives borrow from capital markets, accept deposits from individuals and use trade credits.

3.3 Periods of diversification and consolidation (1970-1980s)

The formation of new housing cooperative reached a pleateau in 1970s to 1985 as compared to the earlier formative period of 1949 to 1957 and 1957 to 1967 where there was two fold increased in the number of housing cooperatives .

In 1970s also saw the reorganisation of the management of cooperatives. The non-agro based cooperatives is solely under the charge of Jabatan Pemangunan Koperasi whilst the agriculture based societies is under the charge of Lembaga Persatuan Peladang. The fishermen’s coopertive is under the jurisdiction of LKIM (Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia). This was an effort to stream lined the cooperatives movement in Malaysia.

Inspite of the down trend in the number of housing cooperatives reflecting the general changes in the organisation and management of cooperatives as a whole, the urban dwellers were still attracted to joining existing housing cooperatives. This was attributed to the support given by the government to housing cooperatives for in the Fourth Malaysia Plan they are expected to build 12,500 houses at an estimated cost 933 million ringgit. The increase in the number of members in the housing cooperatives was also partly the result of government policy in middle of 1980s not to encourage the register more cooperative but to be members of existing cooperatives. However, during the 1980’s housing cooperatives were unable to complete their housing schemes when the main financiers CCB faces financial problems. Also by late 1980s the number of housing cooperatives decreased to 50 in 198 from 64 in 1986.

4.0 MEMBERSHIP AND ASSETS OF HOUSING COOPERATIVES

The growth in membership illustrates the appeal of housing cooperatives. From the rough statistic available , from a figure of 330 members in two cooperatives in 1949 to about 51,000 members in 63 cooperatives in 1983. The statistics shows an increasing trend throughout the years . The asset from 143,000 ringgit to 189.9 million ringgit. The membership decreased because of reorganisation of the cooperative societies in between 1970-1973. The slight dropped in membership can be seen generally in the overall growth of cooperatives in Malaysia . The members of the housing cooperatives come from various sectors of the economy from government servants, self-employed members, soldiers and workers from the provate sectors. In the late 1980s there is a drastic dropped in the membership of housing cooperatives probably due to the recession and its effect on the construction industry. In 1986 the membership was 52,327 but 1987 the following year the membership figure was 27,560 members.

5.0 DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSING COOPERATIVES IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

The states of Perak and Selangor have the largest number of housing cooperative, followed by Penang and Wilayah Persekutuan. The state of Johore in late 1970s and in 1980 showed that it has the same number of cooperatives as those of Penang and Wilayah Persekutuan. But in 1985 the number of housing cooperatives had fropped to three. The relatively less urbanised states of Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu have the smallest number of housing cooperatives. From this rough statistic of the distribution of housing cooperatives one can deduce that the housing cooperatives are located within large urban and metropolitan areas and are mostly urban based and serving population in the urban areas.

6.0 PRODUCTION OF HOUSES BY HOUSING COOPERATIVES Based on The statistics provide evidence of the small contribution made by housing cooperatives in the provision of housing in Malaysia. In the first Malaysia Plan period (1971-1975) only 3585 units were built. In the following Second Malaysia Plan (1976-1980) 4120 units were built which represents 34.3 per cent of the target units of houses to be built. In the Third Malaysia Plan the progress of construction was 18.1 per cent even lower that the previous year.

The achievement is even meagre when the housing units produced by the housing cooperatives is compared to the total housing unit completed to the total housing unit completed for each of the five year plans . In the First Malaysia Plan period the housing cooperatives contributed 13.7 per cent to the total housing units constructed. But the following five year plan the production was 1.4 per cent and even lower percentage figure of 0.9 per cent in the plan period of 1976-1980. The poor track record is again obvious in the Fourth Malaysia Plan period, a percentage figure of 1.1 per cent. However, we could generalise some of the problems as common to most housing cooperatives.

The problems faced by the housing cooperatives are follows:- 7.1 Land

I Affordable Land

The value of land in urban areas is determined by number of factors such as the level of demand, its location and its availability for various development projects . The high demand for urban land and the scarcity in land supply help to plushed up the price of land. The strategic location in urban areas would put the price of land beyond the reach of cooperative housing. In the case of most of the land in large urban cities in Malaysia have been bought over by large developers which have diversified interest in mining and estate . These companies have large land banks which the cooperative do not have. This phenomena is an obstacle which restricts the ability of housing cooperatives to participate in the housing delivery system.

(II) Difficulties In Getting Suitably Located Land

Housing development requires main infrastructure facilities (at least power and water supply main lines) should be readily available. The land with access to main infrastructure comand higher price. Whilst land with no accessibility or far from the main infrastructure facilities is cheaper. But in the latter case the housing cooperative have to provide for it and this might increase the development cost . The higher costs in the end is borne by the members who are the developers as well as the consumers of the facilities. In order to over come the problem housing cooperatives in Johore, Negeri Sembilan, Wilayah Persekutuan and Perak have turn to the government for cheaper or subsidised land. However, not all of these land are suitably located. The land alienated to the housing cooperatives are situated in remote areas and it takes alonger time to process and improved the accessibility and infrastructure before it can be awarded to the housing cooperatives. Finally the housing cooperatives have to bear the extra costs of improvement and the needed connection network.

7.2 Management and Finance

(I) Difficulty in Getting Finance

Financing housing project is the most crucial task for any development organisation, especially for housing cooperatives well known for their lack of capital. Besides fund from shares and subscription, a large percentage of the capital are borrowed. Getting loans from commercial banks and other financial institutions for both bridging and end-financing is always a problem and even worst if the loan obtained is attached with an unfavourable terms . Quite a number of housing cooperatives are in the unfortunate position for having their projects financed by Cooperative Central Bank. The apex bank for the urban cooperatives in Malaysia is under receivership in 1989. In most cases projects under construction have to be abandoned because of inadequate fund to finance the project to its completion .

(II) Members With Low Income

One of the main objectives of cooperatives is to help the low income earners and this concept obviously attract the low income earners to be members of cooperatives. As mentioned earlier the capital raised through their members is small and even worst in a slow additive process (unless the membership is large). Hence reduce the availability of owned fund for the project and may lead housing cooperative to borrowing . As a result the cooperatives have to pay more for the cost of borrowing and the burden is finally transferred to their members.

(III) Management Problems The management of cooperatives is done on a voluntary basis by board members elected in the annual general meeting to lead the cooperatives. They are mainly members who are influential and experienced. However, the cooperatives are administered by the board members on a partime basis. The management of housing project on the other hand requires a fulltime effort. Furthermore the members managing the project must possess knowledge and the experience in project development which requires years of training.

Most of the board members if not all are lacking in technical knowledge and the experienced which can lead to the project failure . A project beginning from the stage of inception through completion has to go through numerous and various phases of decision making involving planning, loan arrangement, monitoring and impleentation etc. For a none technical person who lack the exposure in building industry will find it extremely difficult and the tendency to fall into make wrong decisions. According to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies , about 1500 summons cases over delays in delivery are recorded .

Breach of trust are common in cooperative movement and are very difficult to curb . This was due to the weaknesses in the Cooperative Act and enforcement itself. There is no involvement of members during planning and implementation of the project. Participation of the members occurs when they were asked of their preference and a vote of approval for the project to proceed if it is viable study is complete). Hence most of the members are not happy with the project outcome and leads to partial rejection in the finished project.

7.3 Cost of Production (I) Costs of Infrastructure

The cost of infrastructure in housing project is high. It comprises more than 10 per cent of the total development cost. Depending on the size of the project, this may costs cooperatives million of ringgit and would be a burden to the housing cooperatives and their members.

(II) Lack of Expertise In Building Our case study revealed that all housing cooperatives do not have in house expertise or lack members who are technically qualified in building. They rely heavily on provate consultants. Most of the housing projects carried out by housing cooperatives used traditional approach in design and production, ie. Using architect as the head of the project team with the rest of the consultants serving a supportive technical role under him. The fees incurred by these appointments are between 10 – 15 per cent of the building cost. 7.4 Policies and Other Institutional Requirements

(I) State Government Policies Case study in the state of Johore shows that a number of housing cooperatives indicate their discontentment over the state government policy on allocation and distribution of their houses. The state government pre determine the percentage of quotas to be set aside as well as the location of the lots. The listed lots and houses will be given to certain politically linked groups of people. According to the board membeers this is an undair practise and voiced out that members should be given first preference to choose their own houses.

The 40 percent quotas imposed for low cost housing units by the state government is too high for the housing cooperatives to have a reasonable project return. To compensate for this, the cooperatives have to cross subsidised where losses incurred in low cost units is covered by the returns from the balance 60 per cent units developed.

(II) Other Requirements In our case study of Johore housing cooperatives, one of the requirements for the cooperatives is to set aside 20 percent of the total units for political parties. The political parties would then sell the house set aside to their political members are not members of the housing cooperatives. As a result, chances of owning a unit by members were denied and they have to wait for another project.

8.0 SUGGESTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS In this section some suggestions and recommendations are suggested to overcome the problems.

8.1 Land

(I) Affordable Land and Main Infrstructure

Affordable land is one of the key factors determining the participation of housing cooperatives and government should intervene to overcome this. The state government should consider awarding suitably located state land to the housing cooperatives at a premium or affordable price. The advantage is that is will transfer the role of government as a producer of affordable housing to the cooperatives. The cooperative with the help of government would help to meet the target of providing low cost housing in the Sixth Malaysia Plan (In the Fifth Malaysia Plan $2,880 public low cost housing were planned but only 26,172 units were completed). Alternatively using the power invested in the land code the state can acquire suitably located private land and sell it to the cooperatives at an affordable price.

This can be done in two ways. Firstly, is to adopt a direct approach by prepating a feasibility study of the housing project and forward it to the government for their scrunity and approval. Second, ANGKASA the apex body can play its intermediary role as a representative of the housing cooperative to negotiate for land from the state government.

The government view housing cooperatives as private developers, but most housing cooperatives are not like large housing developers firms which are linked to other sectors of the economy. They are merely “small firm” run like a developer firm but do not have the economic and political clout. It is likely that the housing cooperative to negotiate for land from the state government.

The government view housing cooperatives as private developers, but most housing cooperatives are not like large housing developers firms which are linked to other sectors of the economy. They are merely “small firm” run like a developer firm but do not have the economic and political clout. It is likely that the housing cooperative would cease their operation (completely or temporarily) after they have completed a project. For it take a while before the housing cooperative would be able to have access to land for housing production. The above recommendation would help to cooperative to expand and survive and fulfill its function as a viable alternative to the present government delivery system.

8.2 Management and Finance

(I) Coordinated and Intergrated Programme Cooperatives from the same region should come together and plan for intergration of all the common and essential work and resources. For example members of other cooperatives can participate in a large project carried out by one of the neighbouring cooperatives. In the case of small projects, housing cooperatives can band together to intergrate and coordinate the resources and management pool. This type of arrangement should be able to lower cost of production for example in bulk purchasing of building materials. Housing cooperatives in Latin American countries have banded together to procure construction materials at wholesale price. The construction materials are then distributed to the various housing cooperatives at a lower cost.

(II) Employ Profesional Management Personnel

For a large housing project, fulltime attention should be given by a person or a team to manage the project on behalf of the cooperatives. With a qualified project manager, the management of the project could also be more efficiently and effectively carried out. His role if to advise the housing cooperatives over decisions and take the responsibility over the management of the project .

This can be done in two ways, firstly by employing a qualified person as a project manager. He is part of the cooperative management team. Secondly, is to appoint a profesional project management firm to manage the whole project for the cooperatives. The scope of tasks of the project manager should cover from the inception through its completion and if necessary the scope of work be extended to cover the management of the completed project for the cooperative .

(III) To Improve the Cooperative Leadership Management to the cooperative is on a voluntary and part time basis. Ideally it is essential for the leadership to be people with dedication, sincerity, that are trustworthy, motivated, accountable and responsible. In practice persons with such qualities is hard to come by. Hence leadership in cooperatives management should be go through a proper formal training related fields.

(IV) To Educate Members

Education and training for members in cooperative concept is vital. This is to increase greater awarness amongst members of their roles, ringhts and responsibilities toward strenghtening the cooperative values. From information collected in the case study, involvement and participation of members in housing is minimal or in other work eneffective and apathetic. The role and scope of the Cooperative College be expended to include education and training for general members as well.

(V) To Establish An Alternative Financial Source One of the main difficulties facing cooperatives is to get loan at a favourable and reasonable condition. To overcome this problem the housing cooperative should coperate and work towards the establishment of a bank with the sole objective to serve the cooperatives. By the end of 2006, the total value of shares for the cooperatives is about 3.3 billion ringgit . If each cooperative is able to invest a portion of their savings, a Co-operative Bank with a commecial license to serve them could be established with no difficulty.

(III) Membership Drive and Reorganisation Due to a number of failures in coopertive organisation and their activities, the public cannot be blamed for having a poor and pessimistic perception of cooperative organisation and its movement. Mismanagement, breach of trust lack of management skill ton name but a few of the weaknesses and drawbacks suffer by the cooperative movement. The main task now is to restore the cooperative image. Publicity and promotion of the cooperative values be carried out in a more aggressive and extensive effort. This would be able to restore public confidence for the coopertive values and it would augurs well for the future of the movement. Finally, the cooperatives would go for a big membership drive which is vital for cooperatives to build up their owned financial resources.

8.3 Cost of Production

(I) Cost of Infrastructure

Where the land is located at a disadvantage loation, the government should intervene and provide the main infrastructural network to service the site. Immediate and special attention should be given in order not to jeopardise the completion time of the project.

(II) Centralised Consultancy Services

The cost incured due to the engagement of consultants for the project can be a burden to cooperatives. This cost can be reduced if the cooperatives have a centralised consultancy service solely for housing cooperatives. The experienced fo the consultancy centre in dealing with other housing cooperatives development problems can then be applied to other cooperatives facing the same kind of problem. Angkasa would be in a better position to exploit this idea which is in line with its role as an apex body for the cooperative movement. If the centralised consultancy service is unable to cope with the demand for its services, a regional consultancy centre be set up in each planning region. The professional fees charged for the services should be much lower than standard practise.

A professional consultancy service would help to solve the problem of mismanagement, poor decision making in feasibility studies, in management of the cash-flow in the process of development and implementation of the housing project. However, uppermost in the consultancy service is the cooperative values and meeting the social and cultural housing needs of the cooperative members.

8.4 Policies And Other Institutional Requirements

(I) State Government Policies and Other Requirements

The state government policy regarding quotas for political parties, for low cost housing, and for bumiputra participation should be reviewed. Basic needs for shelter for the fenuine member of the cooperative should be given first priority. There are many approaches to foster racial integration and should be explored. The reduction of bureaucratic demands would ensure survival of housing cooperatives.

9.0 CONCLUSION

Although housing cooperatives production system only contributes a small percentage of the housing needs of the population, its potential has a housing delivery system has not been dully exploited. As mentioned in the introductory section, housing cooperatives should not be considered merely as a physical entity – the provision of housing but a value system which would help to foster intergration and interdependence of the community. A cooperative housing scheme which meets the social, economic and cultural needs of the society is an advancement in the designing of a housing system.

The failures of some housing cooperatives to deliver houses should be seen in a structural perspective. The production subsystem which it relies upon is being dominated by large developers’ firms which monopolised the sources of land finances. The housing cooperatives in order to compete effectively and become an important housing delivery system should have a strong production subsystem to provide it with the component of land, infrastructure and utility services, building materials and design, labour and consumer finance. The role of the government is important has a facilitator in order for the housing cooperative to compete with the other delivery system. The institutional support it receives in finance, main infrastructure and facility provision, access to state and provate land and sources of supplies for building materials would ensure its future role. Hence, a strong government supoort to overcome the structural problems is crucial.

With such institutional support the production subsystem could be strengthened. The housing cooperative would be able to sholder part of the burden of meeting the target of production of houses for the Sixth Malaysia Plan period from the private and public delivery system. This sharing of burden could be realistically pursue especially in the light of the shortfall of public sector in meeting the needs of housing in Malaysia.

The promise of housing cooperative to provide affordable house could be met with a strong production subsystem. The plus point of housing delivery system such as cheap house, low cost of production, pooling of resources, house design based on the social, cultural and economic needs of the members, could be enhanced further.