Give me Shs600m loan for yoghurt business please, Kayihura tells Wazalendo

Gen Kayihura's light-hearted remarks about loan and his yoghurt enterprise did not only light the mood but also gave the Wazalendo savers ideas on investing their resources for post-retirement.

Former Police chief Kale Kayihura surprised Wazalendo SACCO delegates when he asked for a whopping Shs600 million loan.

Gen Kayihura, who is one of the founders of Wazalendo SACCO, says he ventured into yoghurt business but he is short of resources to boost his business.

"I am now among the top if not the biggest yoghurt producers in Uganda," the former IGP and retired army general said.

"I want to grow my business, please, if you can give me a loan of Shs600 million, I will be the happiest."

Kayihura set officers and Wazalendo delegates into laughter when he said he wanted to carry his yoghurt from Kashagama in Lyantonde District, south-western Uganda, to Jinja for the soldiers to have a taste but he had no transport.

"I even wanted to carry some yoghurt for you people but I was limited by transport means," he said.

"When we were retiring, the President asked us to venture into agriculture but to me, he was talking to the already converted since I had started venturing into agricultural produce.

"Some people think yoghurt business is a small but I can tell you it is not a small business, I am earning money from it."

The light hearted submission aside, Kayihura's investment breather will have given the savers in the Wazalendo ideas on how to invest their resources for post-retirement.

He, however, did not name his yoghurt production brand.

The former IGP also spoke for first time about the underperformance of the Police Exodus SACCO.

Kayihura said the Exodus SACCO woes are orchestrated by top leadership in the Police who were against its formation.

He revealed that he was fought by some top police chiefs at its inception.

"I was fought when I introduced Exodus SACCO in Uganda Police Force, because some Police Chiefs didn't want it to start and they made it difficult for Exodus SACCO to take off, thats why it is still limping," Kayihura said.

Kayihura was among the guest speakers during the 18th Annual General Meeting of Uganda People’s Defense Force Wazalendo SACCO.

In his remarks, he applauded the UPDF leadership for steering the Wazalendo SACCO to greater heights, saying when he introduced Exodus SACCO in Police, he was fought by a section of Police Chiefs who were against its formation.

On February 13, Parliament directed a forensic audit should be carried in Exodus SACCO, this after the chairperson of the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, Wilson Kajwengye, tabled a report on the August house which indicated mismanagement of the Exodus SACCO.

Kajwengye told Parliament that the SACCO's financials are not being managed in adherence to sound accounting principles and standards.

"It is the committee's considered opinion that inconsistencies in data compilation is the major cause of discrepancies and unreliable financial positions which has significantly affected the members' savings," Kajwengye told Parliament.