MBARARA City, August 9, 2024 – Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union [BKCU] in Mbarara City has finally received over Shs 9.55 billion from the Finance ministry as compensation for its ranch taken over by government, according to an insider who delivered the good news to this reporter.
During the 51st Annual General Meeting [AGM] in June 2024, Abaasa Ainamani Rubaromba, the BKCU Chairman informed delegates that he was following up on compensation for the Union’s Ranch No. 29 in Nyabushozi Kiruhura district.
“For the ranch compensation, we are in the final stages and we expect the government to pay us about Shs 9bln within this June. I promise that we are going to pay all the debts,” noted Rubaromba during the AGM.
While confirming the receipt of the money, the insider said; “We received money from the government last month [July] and thank God we have managed to pay the Microfinance Support Centre [MSC] Shs 1.4bln to recover the land title for the mortgaged headquarters in Kakoba Mbarara, settled the shared interest loan of Shs 400mln, and Uganda Central Cooperative Financial Services [UCCFS] Shs 243mln, Masaka Cooperative Union [Shs 190mln], among others.”
He added that the balance has been saved for the seasonal coffee bulking and the rest injected in the newly created union SACCO to support the coffee farmers affiliated to the cooperative through various primary societies in Ankole Subregion.
In 1990, the government concerned with squatters’ livelihoods in Ankole Subregion launched a Ranch Restructuring Scheme. Under the scheme, the government carved out land from holders of big tracts of land and divided it amongst the squatters.
Meanwhile, the Union demands Shs 13.7bln from government as war loss compensation, although the Union received Shs 4.3bln as part of the compensation.
According to the auditor’s report 2020/2021, the Union received Shs 1bln from government as part of war loss compensation on May 14, 2021, but the money was allegedly shared among the former Chairman [Emmanuel Natukunda], General Manager [Nelson Niwahebwa], Operations Manager [Elias Owobusingye] and Treasurer [Andrew Kagwa].
A recent parliamentary report indicates that about Shs 164bln meant to compensate cooperatives in the country for the war losses was abused by cooperative leaders, Members of Parliament, and lawyers among others. Leaving most cooperatives still yawning.
BKCU was founded in 1958 to offer coffee advisory services, aggregation, processing, and marketing of members’ coffee in the western region. The number of primary cooperative societies subscribing to the union has dropped to 70 from 358.
https://thecooperator.news/banyankole-managers-arrested-over-misuse-of-union-funds/
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