Thirty farmer Saccos to access govt microfinance funds

Kampala

A total of 30 farmer led Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Saccos) from seven districts in Busoga Region have received start up kits in the move to strengthen them to access government microfinance.

The Saccos received the Kit comprising of money safe, filing cabinets, motorcycles, computers and stationary worth Shs25 million per Sacco and funds to pay for a manager, a cashier, a guard for two years as well as funds for rent and office refurbishment as government commitment to ensure sustainability of Saccos as rural financial institutions.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Cooperative Savings and Credit Union (UCSCU) Limited Wilson Kabanda said the facilities channeled through his organization would help rural people to strengthen and ease access financial services.

Mr Kabanda said the Saccos would be organised and capacitated to access financial services from government as loan to boost farm productivity hence increased income generation.

“These Saccos are owned and managed by you (rural people) but government through UCSCU is giving assistance to help your Saccos develop into strong and self reliant organizations.

We are targeting 1085 SACCOs countrywide from 80 districts to have them community initiated, controlled and used, mobilized and retain resources with in the localities, Mr Kabanda said.

The CEO delivered the kit on Saturday (March 7) at the official opening of the UCSCU offices in Busoga Region held in Iganga Town.

The districts include Jinja, Iganga, Kamuli, Bugiri, Kaliro, Namutumba and Mayuge.
The Region has a total of 350 registered Saccos with a membership of 51,315 and loan pot folio of shs4.4 billion.

UCSCU is a is the apex of Saccos in the country selected by government to be part of the implementers of prosperity for all, a brain child of president Yoweri Museveni to address the plight rural people.

The strategy aims at ultimately having a financial institution in form of a Saccos at every institution to ensure access to safe and sustainable financial services.

The offices in Iganga would help local people access to financial services in rural areas through the government adopted the Rural Financial Services Strategy (RFSS) that is ongoing countrywide.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga applauded the programme in the area saying it was another way of creating employment for the rural people as well as fighting poverty in the area.

“This office is a source of income generation and employment hence an economic impact to the area people. But also there is need to build capacity and confidence of the savers to rejuvenate the defunct cooperative unions through unity to access micro finance," Ms Kadaga said.

“The idea of Saccos targets productivity among rural people and the way to increase their earning is by way of value addition to save in Saccos," Ms Kadaga said.

Ms Kadaga was optimistic that Saccos would help to save the region from economic and academic dwarfs of the country.

Iganga Deputy Resident District Commissioner Elijah Madoi said most people in Busoga region are not involved in Saccos because they spend all the money in buying food other than working hard to cultivate their land,.

Mr Madoi said, “The main cause of poverty is laziness because people have land but they insist on buying food. This daily spending on food worsened by drunkardness that has made people lives in abject poverty."

“The little savings made are again misappropriated by organization leaders and this has killed the government programme of prosperity for all. But I warn whoever linked to embezzlement of Sacco funds risks imprisonment," Mr Madoi warned.

“Rotary club is engaged in water projects and they will see that the community gets water," Mr Kawalya added.