Govt to inject over sh3.5b in Kasese district

The government of Uganda has earmarked nearly sh3.5b for Kasese district under President Yoweri Museveni's Initiative on Wealth and Job Creation, known as Emyooga.
The revolving fund initiative is to be implemented through the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC).

This was revealed by Henry Mbaguta, the Commissioner Financial Services at Finance Ministry, at the launch of the constituency level emyooga which climaxed Thursday in Kasese Municipality.

The launch was presided over by the Kasese Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Lt Joe Walusimbi, who represented the State Minister for Microfinance, Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo.

The functions were held at constituency levels starting at Kinyamaseka Primary School for Bukonzo County, Hima Town Council headquarters for Busongora County and the Mayor's Gardens for Kasese Municipality.

Mbaguta said each of the five constituencies within the district would receive a total of sh629m to kick start this project, which is aimed at empowering parish and constituency-based organised groups of women, youth, Boda-boda operators, carpenters, teachers of private schools and journalists.

"The emyooga is part and parcel of the economic response to support stimulate micro and small entrepreneurs," said Mbaguta.

He added that the beneficiary groups will have a membership of 7-30 people. Mbaguta observed the need for people within the different constituencies in the districts to structure themselves in organised groups if they want to benefit from the money that the district is going to receive.

 "We are trying to create a new dispensation of SACCOs that are hinged on micro-enterprises rather than pure SACCOs on savings," he said.

He recalled that around 2009, more than 50% of Ugandans had no access to micro-financial services, noting that with government interventions, this figure had reduced to about 20%. Kasese Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Amis Asuman Masereka, sternly warned that he would not tolerate any civil servant that will attempt to sabotage this otherwise good initiative. 

"Whoever is mooting fleecing the beneficiaries under the guise of helping them should leave office before they are crashed," said Masereka, who is just about a month old in the district expanse district.
The RDC warned civil servants who cannot resist the temptation of dipping their hands into the money to resign before burning their fingers.

"I have been getting reports that some of your CDOs (Community Development Officers) charge self-help group exhort unnecessarily big amounts of money to help in making project proposals," Lt Walusimbi told the CAO.
It is aimed at realizing socio-economic transformation where the government is committed to converting 68% of the homesteads that are currently involved in subsistence farming to market-oriented production.

Petronilla Helen Masika, who represented the Executive Director Microfinance Support Centre, (MSC) at the function, challenged the residents of Kasese to desist from politicizing government projects. 

She explained that several projects in Kasese district allegedly end up collapsing due to the tendency of the people politicizing them. Edith Tusubiira, the Director Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA), called for proper accountability, threatening that swindlers risk prosecution.