How Emyooga scheme works

In October, last year, Mr Alpha Alfred Kakuyu, was listening to a radio when he suddenly heard an announcement that the government was going to give money to low-income earners.

The vehicle for disbursement of the funds, according to the announcer, would be Savings and Credit Cooperative (Saccos) formed by the potential beneficiaries and the new wealth and job creation scheme was baptised Emyooga.

A day after receiving the news, Mr Kakuyu, the chairman at City House Boda Boda Stage, reported to work and shared the information with colleagues.

Together, they went to City Hall to seek more information about the programme, but were advised that they would be contacted when the Emyooga scheme was set to roll out.

A fortnight later, Mr Kakuyu received a telephone call from a Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) staff and he, alongside representatives from other city divisions, were trained on how prospective Emyooga association members would fill the forms.

By stroke of fate, he was given Enyooga forms to distribute to Boda Boda stages in the entire Central City division, and simultaneously tasked to rally the riders to form associations of 10 members and elect four-member executive.

The associations returned the form but submitted it to KCCA Division Boda Boda Riders and Agro-Traders Cooperative Society Limited (KDBRATCS), an existing Sacco chaired by Mr Kakuyu.

KDBRATCS took the forms for endorsement by the Local Council I chairperson, resident city commissioner, the internal security officer for the city and the credit commercial officer whose equivalent at districts is the Cooperatives officer
Upon return of the Emyooga forms, City Hall convened a training for all chairpersons of all Boda Boda associations across the capital and tasked them to train their members about the specifics of the Emyooga programme, members’ responsibility and benefits.

“At first it was hard because people thought the programme was political and they kept asking why I was tasked to go and train them,” said Mr Kakuyu of the training which coincided with campaigns for the 2021 elections.

Following the training, KDBRATCS filled a Book of Saccos and upon its return to City Hall, the Sacco chairperson was tasked to open up an account for the Sacco with Banks which had representatives at City Hall.

Thus, they became a legal entity, were issued an Emyooga certificate and declared eligible to receive the Emyooga cash.

“I thought we would have got the money in November 2020, but to my surprise, it was credited on our Sacco account April 2021,” Mr Kakuyu said with a tinge of frustration over the half-a-year wait.   

The grant that the government disbursed to KDBRATCS account was Shs30 million for the 300 members of the 10 different associations subsumed under the Sacco.

If the Shs30 million was to be divided equally, each member of the associations under the Sacco would receive Shs100,000, according to our computations.

But this is not how the cash is used, according to the Micro-Finance Support Centre (MSF), the lead agency implementing Emyooga.

In a briefing to select journalists and media managers in Kampala on May 19, Mr James Muhwezi, the MSC resource mobilisation manager, said they transfer the grant of between Shs30m and Shs50 million directly to the Sacco account which members associations have to borrowed at 8-12 per cent interest for various enterprises.

Each eligible member, depending on the constitution of the association, pays Shs20,000 in two equal amounts for membership and annual subscription and each association in turn buys shares from its Sacco at Shs150,000.

By April 2021, Emyooga Saccos’ savings had grossed Shs9.9b while the government’s total grant totaled Shs200b to 6,394 constituency-based Saccos in 347 constituencies of 146 districts and cities, Mr Muhwezi said.

“Through this initiative government has committed itself to convert 68 per cent of the country’s homesteads currently in subsistence to market-oriented production,” he said.

Up to 18 categories of Ugandans, clustered by occupations, are eligible to benefit from the programme formally named the Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job Creation. 

Mr Muhwezi cautioned against politicisation of the Emyooga programme or determinations of beneficiaries based on whether or not they support the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Emyooga, which started last October, mirrors a range of other poverty alleviation programmes --- among them Entandikwa, Poverty Alleviation Programme, Poverty Action Plan --- which put together have posted less than satisfactory outcomes.

Eligible categories
1- Boda Bodas
2- Women entrepreneurs
3- Carpenters
4- Salon operators
5- Taxi operators
6- Restaurant owners
7- Wielders
8- Market vendors
9- Youth leaders
10- Persons with Disabilities
11-  Produce dealers
12-  Mechanics
13-  Tailors
14- Journalists
15- Performing artistes
16- Veterans
17- Fishermen
18- Local leaders.

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