Microfinance state minister, Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo has warned Emyooga beneficiaries against registering for the Parish Development Model programme.

While addressing Emyooga SACCOS and Buliisa district leaders at Buliisa District headquarters over the weekend, Kasolo said all those who have registered for PDM yet they are beneficiaries of Emyooga, should be deregistered with immediate effect.

Kasolo, with a team of Emyooga implementers, is traversing Bunyoro region to monitor the performance of the programme, expressing concern that  even those who received the Emyooga money have also registered to benefit from PDM.

He ordered the Resident District Commissioners together with district commercial officers to follow up on this matter and arrest all those who have registered for PDM at the same time in Emyooga and described them as greedy. 

Minister Kasolo training the Emyooga beneficiaries on how to save for the future

Kasolo said PDM is for the active poor and appealed to the implementers to sensitise the community to ensure that the programme benefits the targeted group of people.

Emmanuel Twinomujuni, the Microfinance Support Centre Hoima zonal office manager, said Emyooga SACCOS in Buliisa are fairly performing.

He added that Buliisa has only a constituency with 18 Emyooga SACCOS and they were given sh530m as seed capital and sh680m has been disbursed to the beneficiaries since it was a revolving fund. He added that the beneficiaries have so far recovered sh130m and saved over sh230m

Twinomujuni said the sh30m meant for journalists is still on account because they had not registered. He added that after engaging the group, they registered and soon they will be given the money.

He attributed this poor performance on mindset adding that many people have negative thinking that this Emyooga money was a political incentive. Twinomujuni was optimistic that with the state minister’s intervention and training, the performance was going to improve tremendously.

Emyooga programme deputy national co-ordinator Abdul Bisaso underscored a need to sensitise the beneficiaries to understand the importance of saving if these SACCOs are to grow.

He said most of the SACCOS members saved to withdraw the money, which the Government had disbursed on their account and after withdrawing they went silent.

Bisaso said saving is an important aspect for development adding saving helps one to save for the future investment.