Best performing Emyooga saccos to receive an additional shs20m each , says Minister Kasolo

The State Minister for Microfinance, Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo has said that the best performing Emyooga saccos are to receive shs20 million each in addition to the shs30 million earlier given to them as seed capital from government.

“In this financial year, the president asked me to add you more shs 20 million. But this will be for only saccos that will have exhibited good performance. The RDC, it is your duty to forward the names of the saccos that have exhibited good performance. Send them to Microfinance Support Centre but also give me copy and they will get the money. This money is already there. We have to send it between now and June. Every financial year, we will add you more money,”Kasolo said.

The minister was on Wednesday speaking to beneficiaries in Kitagwenda district as part of Emyooga monitoring drive.

Kasolo said in the next financial year, Emyooga sacco that are performing well in terms of saving will again get another bonus.

“SACCOs that will have learnt how to save are going to get motorcycles and computers. We will also give you safe deposit boxes to keep the money that will not have been banked.”

Bank

The minister urged the beneficiaries to mobilise themselves and other members of the public to for their own banks as part of Emyooga.

He noted that each of the 18 Emyooga categories should have its own bank where they have savings and members can borrow at lower interest rates.

“We want you to top up your savings so that you stop going to money lenders to ask for high interest rates. Money for Emyooga will not go back to government. We gave it to you. It's your money. If anyone embezzles it, he has embezzled you, not government. Microfinance Support Centre is not going to ask you to return the money. President Museveni will not ask you to return it. It is your money as a group, not an individual. We want you to take the money, use it, bring it back, and it is lent out to another person,”Kasolo said.

“I want this programme to continue. Therefore, we are going to arrest those who got the money, and don't want to pay back, because this is a revolving fund.”

Performance

The performance report presented by the District Commercial Officer, Fred Musinguzi indicated that Kitagwenda has only one constituency and consequently received shs560 million from the Microfinance Support Centre for the 18 Emyooga saccos.

To this, he said the cumulative savings are shs100 million, loans worth shs1.33 billion disbursed and of this shs533 million has been recovered.

The saccos for women entrepreneurs and one for people with disability were the best performing Emyooga saccos in Kitagwenda.