The Cooperative Societies Act 1974 (the Act) was the first cooperatives legislation enacted in The Bahamas. The Department of Cooperative Development was formed in 1975 to administer the Act. This new department was charged with the “promotion, formation, registration, regulation, and control of cooperative societies”. The first group to be registered under the new legislation was the National Women’s Co-operative Society Limited, with the aim of providing housing for members. The registration date was January 10, 1975. Prior to this time, there had been sporadic attempts to form cooperatives. One of the earliest was in the 1940’s when the late Fr J. P. Sullivan helped establish a credit union at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral that was active until the early 1960’s.

In 1954, a community coconut farm was established, at Fernandez Bay on Cat Island, whose vestiges are still evident today. Also in the 1950’s, a government-sponsored Madeira tree plantation was set up at Dean’s to harvest timber for furniture-making. This farm was also abandoned.

In 1963, Rudolph Burgzorg was instrumental in forming NEED (National Education and Economic Development) which was registered in 1965 under the Companies Act by the late labour leader and parliamentarian Sir Randol Fawkes. In 1967, Burgzorg, together with King and Shirley Nixon, Tony Christie, Anthony Carey, Stephanie Carey, Peter Galanis, Arthur Richardson, Chalam Miller, Peter Rowe and Clement Maynard, formed the first cooperative food store located on Palm Tree Street. This venture closed in 1970.

According to the first Director of the Department of Co-operative Development, Robert Hall, the initiative for legislation on the government side came from former Minister of Finance Carlton Francis, who saw co-ops as a vehicle for farmers and fishermen to enjoy greater economies of scale. At the time, Mr. Hall was an official in the Ministry of Finance who had received training at Loughborough Co-operative College in England.

Minister Francis appointed a committee in late 1969 which visited several Caribbean countries in search of legislation which might be used as a guide for preparing legislation. Between the preparation and enactment of this legislation, the responsibility for cooperative development was moved from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries under Minister Anthony Roberts.

A farmer’s co-op was established in North Eleuthera in the late 1960’s, and from 1968 to 1971 about 18 similar groups operated in farming and fishing. After the new legislation was implemented, the hotel workers union became the second group to establish a cooperative when the National Workers Credit Union was formed on November 17, 1976.

In 1977, National Workers joined with three other credit unions (Anglican Diocesan, Salem Union Baptist Church, and Teachers & Salaried Workers) to explore the formation of an association. Leaders in this development included the late Sir Kendal lsaacs, Eris Moncur, the late Rev Carlton Francis, Edward ‘Bobby’ Glinton, Huel Moss, Audley Humes, Albertha Byer and Rose Culmer.

This association was registered in May, 1980 as the Bahamas Credit Union League with Sir Kendal Isaacs as its first president, and six new credit unions were immediately added to the membership list. These were the Distillers, Bahamas Elks, Public Workers, Grand Bahama, Masonic and Eastern Star, and the New Providence Credit Union. The league established a full-time secretariat in 1981 with Valarie Clarke as its first manager.

Shortly thereafter, the league joined the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions. In 1992 it opened its own office building in Pyfrom’s Addition named the K.G.L. lsaacs Building. Two years later the organization’s name was changed to the Bahamas Cooperative League to reflect its status as the official umbrella association for the entire cooperative movement.
Today, the movement has grown to encompass approximately 17 credit unions, approximately 5 producer/supplier co-ops, six (6) school co-ops, and The Bahamas Co-operative League. The 31,000 members of these cooperatives now control over $250 million in assets.

In recognition of this expansion, the government has enacted new legislation to update the regulatory framework in which co-ops operate. The Draft Cooperative Regulations are under review. The Cooperative Societies Act, 2005 went into effect in October, 2005, and repeals the Cooperative Societies Act, 1974.

According to the current Director of Co-operative Development, Nathaniel Adderley, the objectives are to “encourage initiative, promote the growth, and protect the safety and soundness of cooperative enterprises, and update the law to meet changing conditions so that the movement can continue to prosper.”