Emyooga SACCOs in Kayunga get more funding: here is how you can benefit.

KAYUNGA, Uganda: The presidential Initiative on Job and Wealth Creation (EMYOOGA) is marred with management issues arising from a policy which does not create a budget for monitoring.

The deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) in Kayunga, Trevor Solomon Baleke noted during a stakeholders meeting held in Kayunga on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) – an agency managing the EMYOOGA fund was also handing over additional funding to EMYOOGA SACCO where each SACCO received 20,000,000 Uganda shillings. Kayunga has 54 SACCO and at least 15 have so far received more funding. Kayunga last got Emyooga funding in December 2020 when the SACCOs received over one billion six hundred million Uganda shillings.

A SACCO is a savings and credit cooperative society where members save and borrow money at micro level. Uganda has 18 Emyooga SACCO at county level to promote improved household livelihoods.

William Kirunda, Microfinance Support Centre Manager, Kampala region

Speaking during the handover, Baleke noted that “the issue of Emyooga monitoring is a policy issue” and called upon legislators to pass a policy that will facilitate an effective monitoring of the fund.

Emyooga, which is a local direct for associations is a government intervention which aims at promoting improved household livelihoods among 18 small business sectors including; Boda Boda, Saloon operators, Restaurant owners, Welders, Mechanics, Produce dealers and tailors among others.

To benefit from the program, each individual must belong to a certain association (Myooga) available at county level and be able to regularly save money as per the myooga policy. Although there is no collateral on the loans in Emyooga, each borrower is however required to have saved atleast 30% of the loan required.

The program has however been reported to have failed especially in Buganda region due to unfavourable political influence, high corruption tendencies, lack of sufficient training and the unavailability of a monitoring fund which left the SACCO “illiterate and uninformed” SACCO leaders to gamble with the funds.

It was on this background that the Bbale county member of parliament in Kayunga, Hon. Charles Tebandeke (NUP) warned the NRM government that if they don’t prioritize Emyooga monitoring by facilitating the commercial officers who are by law supposed to monitor the program, then government risks shaming the president since this program is under the president’s office.

“The powers were left to the SACCO committees and this created a loophole for the mismanagement of funds”, Hon. Tebandeke noted.

During the meeting, stakeholders resolved to close the gaps where mismanagement has been identified. The measures include preventing SACCO leaders from withdrawing money from the SACCO accounts until they get approval from the RDC and the district commercial officer. The measure is intended to encourage savings and loan repayment since the monitoring team will be have records.

William Kirunda, Manager, Kampala Office in the Microfinance Support Centre revealed that Kayunga performed poorly in the Emyooga program leading to the collapse of the SACCOs in the district. He then advised for improved savings and loan repayment from members in order to register the best performance.