National Microfinance Conference opens Jan 29

By Agatha Mutebi and David Lumu 

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni will on January 29, open the third National Microfinance Conference. The event will debate the proposed microfinance regulatory authority. 

The authority is part of the proposals in the microfinance Bill, currently before Parliament. The Bill will repeal the Money Lending Act of 1952, which does not protect the public from unscrupulous loan sharks. The conference is slated to take place at Hotel Africana in Kampala. 

Speaking yesterday at the Uganda Media Centre, the state minister for microfinance, Caroline Amali, said the new regulatory body would streamline the operations of microfinance institutions, savings and credit co-operative societies (SACCOS) and money lending businesses in the country.

“Once passed by Parliament, the Bill will promote sanity in the microfinance sector and increase protection of clients’ savings by financial institutions not regulated by the Central Bank,” she said.

At the conference, the President is expected to launch a project dubbed, the Project for Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas (PROFIRA). PROFIRA is designed to ensure SACCOS sustainability. 

David Baguma, the executive director of the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda, said the new regulatory framework will be harmonised with the East African Community protocols.