UPDF backed Uwezo sacco ready to offer benchmarking lessons to PDM

 Uwezo Cooperative and Investment Society which is owned by members of the Operation Wealth Creation has said it is ready to offer benchmarking lessons to saccos under the newly introduced Parish Development Model saccos.

Speaking during the sacco’s annual general meeting held at the Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute, the board of directors chairperson, Brig Godfrey Muwanguzi said the last eight years they have been in existence is something that new saccos under the Parish Development Model can draw lessons from.

“For the new Parish Development Model program, we can play a mentorship role to the saccos . We can be a good model to those saccos considering the successes we have achieved in the last eight years. If the managers of those saccos so wish, we can mentor them because they are still limping,” Brig Muwanguzi said.

He noted that since the Operation Wealth Creation sacco has branches all over the country, it can ably offer lessons to their counterparts in the Parish Development Model program.

“Our members are in districts and constituencies and their task is to supervise government programs and we shall empower them(sacco managers) to play  that role. If we succeeded in the eight years, we think we can teach the same to the Parish Development Model managers because we are guided by our chief coordinator ( Gen Salim Saleh) to think about life and future after service. That’s what has motivated us.”

Commenting about the performance of the sacco, Brig Muwanguzi said their membership currently stands at 440 including UPDF officers and civilians working with Operation Wealth Creation whereas the total equity is at shs4.9 billion and loans to a tune of shs1.6 billion have so far been issued to members in the closing year whereas members have saved over shs660 million.

“We save from the allowances paid out to members and we have never got any seed capital from government as other saccos. Ours is a multipurpose cooperative society,” he said.

“One of the biggest challenges is that our members have enormous demands yet our resources are limited because of the source of income being the savings and shares. Therefore, our members have so much appetite for loans yet there is a limitation of resources.”

Members speak out

Maj Emmanuel Andrua, the Operation Wealth Creation coordinator for Arua said he has borrowed several times from Uwezo sacco and has acquired property out of the loans from the sacco but also able to pay school fees.

“I have invested in fixed assets like land and plant trees  but also pay school fees out of my savings. Uwezo has supported me a lot. Right now I want to get one more loan that will support me. Previously I have been injecting the money in fixed assets but this time I want to borrow from the sacco and invest in local poultry business. Right now I am harvesting my pine trees that I want to use to construct a shelter for local birds having realized that they have a big market in Arua and across in the DRC,”Maj Andrua said.

“I am targeting to use the loan to buy over 1000 local eggs, hatch them and start rearing local chicken that I target to be ready by Christmas season. I expect to make not less than shs50 million before the year ends.”

According to Maj Mary Namyalo, the liaison officer of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute in Operation Wealth Creation, the loans acquired from Uwezo sacco have been of much help especially in terms of emergencies.

“In terms of emergencies like paying school fees and paying hospital bills, the loans from the sacco have come in handy and at a low interest rate. I have also been able to do a poultry project from the loans and I must say I am successful,” Maj Namyalo said.

According to Capt Wilson Agaba, the Operation Wealth Creation spokesperson, for the past eight years, the Uwezo sacco has made great strides.

“The sacco has been able to excel due to commitment of members to continuous saving and accessing loans from which we get profits and then reinvest them. From the investments the members get dividends and this has ensured we have stood the test of time for eight years where other saccos have crumbled,” Capt Agaba said.

He said it is high time saccos invested in training members about the purpose of the saccos and not just for getting loans but knowing how to invest the money borrowed.