Microfinance centre director under fire

Dec 29, 2009

THE parliamentary committee on finance has asked the former Mawokota MP, Henry Mutebi Kityo, to forfeit one of his current two positions over conflict of interest.

By Joel Ogwang

THE parliamentary committee on finance has asked the former Mawokota MP, Henry Mutebi Kityo, to forfeit one of his current two positions over conflict of interest.

Kityo is a director at the Microfinance Support Centre and the chairman of the South Mawokota SACCO.

During a fact-finding tour on the performance of SACCOs in Mpigi district, the legislators wondered why he accepted the two positions.

“What he is doing is morally wrong. We are not happy with this. He (Kityo) has to decide which position he retains to avoid conflict of interest,” said Charles Ojok, the committee vice-chairman.

South Mawokota SACCO boasts of 862 members, with 642 shareholders.

The SACCO has a loan portfolio of sh185m and a share capital of sh14m. Sh58.2m is what members saved.

Kityo denied any conflict of interest, saying his role at the Microfinance Support Centre was only on policy formulation.
“I don’t handle money or decide who gets it.

“I can only quit my position when members vote me out in 2011,” he said.

He noted that in cooperatives, there are laws that don’t bar any person from getting a position once voted in a free and fair election.

“When my name was proposed, I couldn’t turn down the people’s mandate. But, if my two-years run down and members feel I am not worthy continuing as chairman, I will stand down,” he said.

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