KAMPALA, Uganda: As the 2019/2020 budget gets read amidst the meagre income of the teachers, the government put a smile on the faces of the teachers with another release of Ugs1.3 billion into the teachers’ SACCO.
This brings it to Ugs 17b released so far to enable teachers in the country improve on their livelihoods by accessing loans to start up small businesses.
In 2010 Museveni pledged Shs 25bn to be remitted to teachers’ Saccos in installments of Ugs 5bn annually for five years to boost their socio-economic welfare and improve the quality of education.
The Teachers Apex body, Walimu SACCO chairperson Mr. Nabende Stephen said the Ugs1.3 billion was released into their account.
Speaking during the commissioning of the new Walimu SACCO House in Kiwatule on Wednesday, Nabende urged teachers countrywide grouped under various SACCOs to access the loans for better livelihoods.
Teachers have always complained of low pay yet they have skills for business. They recently laid down their tools just after the term opened and only agreed to return to class after President Museveni intervened and promised to increase their pay.
While commissioning the Walimu Teachers House, Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperative Hon Amelia Kyambadde hailed the teachers for working hard to own their own home. She urged other cooperative unions countrywide to take a leaf from the teachers and develop. She said that once united, and working as a team, all is possible.
Stephen Nabende, the Chairperson Walimu SACCO said they were able to save and invest over the years before they would attain their permanent home.
According to Nabende, they have called a meeting of managers of all teachers’ Saccos across the country to discuss modalities of distributing the money. The release of the money ends tension between teachers and the Education ministry.
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When the Finance Ministry released the first batch of the money, the Ministry of Education and Sports handed it over to the MicroFinance Support Centre saying teachers don’t have the capacity to manage such huge funds.
TheCooperator has established that the funds were only released to the teachers SACCO after they showed competence regarding handling of huge finances.
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