“Do you support SANACO being formally recognized by Government as the singular National Apex Body for all cooperative tiers and do you commit to affiliating your Tertiary Co-operative accordingly?” To: The Tertiary Co-operatives of South Africa; Subject: Formal Recognition and Response to the Registrar’s Presentation on SANACO Apex Body Registration – Call to Affiliate On 7 August 2025 during the International Cooperatives Day 2025 event at Sun City the representative of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) presented an encouraging update on the progress of the South African National Apex Co-operative (SANACO) in being registered as a National Apex Body for all cooperatives. The presentation alluded to special adjustments within the CIPC system to facilitate the Apex registration of SANACO reflecting significant steps toward legal enablement and integration. As Chairpersons of Tertiary Co-operatives we hereby launch this petition—to be conducted as a closed-group poll on coops.africa in the 'South Africa Apex Group' (https://login.coops.africa/groups/apexza). Our objective is to formally solicit and compile the responses of all Tertiary Co-operatives who will eventually need to affiliate with SANACO once recognized as the single Apex Body. This petition serves to: 1. Document the collective stance of Tertiary Co-ops regarding the proposed SANACO Apex recognition. 2. Secure a timely and unified response to the CIPC’s developments. 3. Provide Ministers and policy-makers with clear insight into the current disposition of the sector—fostering informed decision making. Legal Context & Authority: According to the Co-operatives Act No. 14 of 2005, as amended, a tertiary co-operative is defined as one whose members are secondary co-operatives whose object includes advocating and engaging with organs of state on behalf of its members Government of South Africa. The Act further provides for the concept of a National Apex Co-operative to be formed by at least three operational sectoral tertiary co-operatives at national level and five operational multi-sectoral tertiary co-operatives at provincial, district or local levels CIPC. Importantly while the Act does not extend to apex entities not registered as co-operatives it explicitly encompasses tertiary co-operatives having the objects of a co-operative apex organisation Government of South Africa. Why coops.africa? We chose the coops.africa platform, developed by cooperators for cooperators for several compelling reasons: • Credibility & due diligence: Every Tertiary Chairperson has an active coops.africa account with a verifiable Tertiary Co-operative page and member list allowing transparent verification of signatories. • Interactivity & depth: The platform supports commenting and discussion enabling Chairpersons to articulate their positions, concerns or suggestions—providing invaluable context and nuance for Ministers and decision-makers. • Inclusivity & transparency: As an open-access tool to the cooperative movement coops.africa ensures the petition remains unbiased, visible and easily managed throughout the process. “Do you support SANACO being formally recognized by Government as the singular National Apex Body for all cooperative tiers and do you commit to affiliating your Tertiary Co-operative accordingly?” Respond underneath!!