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TAREHE SITA

Besides offering social services to mark the 43rd Tarehe Sita Anniversary, the UPDF added the component of building the capacity of SACCO leaders in the Busoga region.

With reports about  SACCOs grappling with poor Management, lack of saving culture, and weak ideology, the Wazalendo SACCO staff has for the last three weeks trained leaders in the techniques of managing and sustaining SACCOs.

On Monday, the sensitization and training workshops were concluded in Kamuli district, charging the SACCO leaders and members to front three things: mindset change, time management, and selection of honest leaders.

“SACCOs cannot last when leaders are not honest and greedy. Leaders are the first problem, seconded by poor mindset and time misuse,” Lt. Col Kitanda said, the Team leader, also the Wazalendo SACCO Board Vice Chairperson, Wazalendo SACCO,  lectured, during the final leg in Kamuli Municipality grounds in Kamuli district yesterday (Monday).

Lt. Col Kitanda added that on time management, local people, despite having enough time and resources to do productive work, thus remain poor and unable to penetrate the money economy.

Major Arthur Kwezi, the Wazalendo SACCO IT specialist, said that unlike the Army where orders come with impromptu deployments, local people have a lot of time to work and reduce poverty at individual and household levels.

The trainings that featured in the districts of Kamuli, Namutumba, Buyende, Jinja, Luuka, Iganga, Mayuge, Namayingo, Kaliro, and Jinja City were attended by District leaders and technocrats.

While facilitating in Buyende district, Mjr. Norah Ongodia, noted that SACCOs should be initiated and managed by the locals themselves, not setting them up to tap Government money like Emyooga, the Parish Development Model (PDM) etc. 

“If SACCOs are built on such grounds, the leaders can manipulate and ruin it,” Ongodia said, adding that involving women in SACCO leadership is paramount because it is on record that female leaders have proved to be efficient.

The UPDF have for the last full month been in Busoga offering social services including the construction of health facilities like maternity wards, Outpatient structures, construction of markets, donation of labor-ward bed  Mama kits, etc… in  Busoga region.