Finance minister warns SACCO managers on corruption

State minister for finance in charge of microfinance, Haruna Kyeyune, has asked the Project for Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas (PROFIRA) authorities to ensure transparency and value for money in empowering saving and credit cooperatives (SACCOs), to avoid corruption.

Meeting officials of PROFIRA at their offices in Kampala, the new minister for microfinance, ordered PROFIRA, to ensure that service providers don't take part in selection of beneficiaries for capacity building.

"As you have always heard from President Yoweri Museveni, the government will not tolerate corruption, as you give capacity building to SACCOs, ensure there is transparency and accountability," Kyeyune said.

The minister advised PROFIRA which is mandated to offer financial literacy to SACCOs in rural areas, to consider engaging local leaders such as MPs, in selection of beneficiary cooperatives.

Kyeyune also asked PROFIRA whose funding totals to $36.6m (sh105.8 billion) to expand its operation to cover more SACCOs around the country.

"You receive a lot of funding, but I'm told you have only empowered 500 SACCOs with 85 in the central region. What sort of capacity building is this? You should include a SACCO, per Sub County," he advised.

To avoid a collapse of initiatives like the NAADS project, Kyeyune advised the officials to consider repackaging its program, to provide SACCOs with equipment as opposed to only capacity building.

However according to the PROFIRA project manager, Lance Kashugyera, the project has not only offered capacity building, but has also facilitated its beneficiaries with equipment like motorcycles and computers to help in their day to day activities.  

"A number of SACCOs have benefited from PROFIRA, we want to ensure that Ugandans have access to financial services," Kashugyera said.

PROFIRA, a seven year project, focuses on the large portion of the rural population that has little or no access to financial services and on two rural institutions that have successfully demonstrated that sound and appropriate financial services can be provided to even the poorest members of rural communities, savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) and community savings and credit groups (CSCGs).

It is mainly financed by development partners and the government of Uganda.