HOIMA –As district authorities in Hoima continue to hold on to certificates of 62 savings and credit co-operatives (Sacco) denying them access to Emyooga cash for weeks, angry complaints are piling and some savers are demanding refunds.
The complainants are largely members of different Emyooga associations, who formed SACCOs hoping to benefit from the Presidential Initiative On job And Wealth Creation.
Florence Asaba, the Chairperson of Hoima West Women Entrepreneur SACCO, said some members have lost hope of getting the Emyooga cash and are demanding refunds.
Much as the money is already on the SACCO accounts, she said savers cannot access it because they don’t have certificates. She demanded to know why government is delaying to release certificates to members.
“As the chairperson of the SACCO I am finding challenges, people have been saving, others paid for share and subscription fees but what they expected is not materializing, so some members have started demanding for refunds so that they withdraw from the SACCO,” she said.
Interviewed for comment, Andrew Zimbe, the Midwestern Regional Manager for the Microfinance Support Center (MSC), said the SACCO certificates were released to the district leadership headed by Hoima Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Samuel Kisembo.
He said the center released 62 out of 72 certificates to the district leaders.
According to him, Hoima district has 72 SACCOs, which were formed from 1,460 Emyooga associations.
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The SACCOs are in four constituencies; Hoima West division, Hoima East division, Kigorobya and Bugahya County. Each constituency has 18 SACCOs.
Each constituency is supposed to get Shs 560 million out of Shs 2.24 billion disbursed to the entire Western district of Hoima to benefit 1,460 Emyooga SACCOs.
“We handed over 62 certificates to the RCC two weeks ago, we are just left with 10 certificates, which we are planning to deliver soon,” Zimbe said by telephone on Friday, April 16.
Interviewed on April 19, Kisembo, the RCC, admitted the district received the certificates.
He said they are holding on to the certificates because there are no guidelines on how the money should be managed.
He said they want to train SACCO leaders, beneficiaries and commercial banks managers in SACCO management.
“We received the certificates from MSC but we want to first prepare ourselves before members start accessing this money and we are doing this to avoid what is happening in other districts like Kikuube where SACCO leaders are embezzling the money.” Kisembo said.
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