The State Minister for Microfinance Haruna Kyeyune has ordered for the immediate suspension of Vincent Kaitana, the board chairperson of Kyazanga Kwegatta Savings and Credit Society Limited, over allegation of abuse of office and possible fraud.
The minister also ordered a special audit into the accounts of the SACCO after members expressed fear of financial mismanagement.
The directive follows a petition by the SACCO members and three of its board members to the minister.
Kaitana is accused of abuse of office and causing division within management by working with a clique to undermine set financial procedures.
The member also accused Kaitana of failing to conduct regular Annual General Meetings, hence running the SACCO without approved work-plan and budgets.
The members noted in their petition to the minister that Kaitana has held the position of chairperson of the SACCO since its establishment in 2000 and continues to rejected calls for fresh elections.
It is against this background that the minister on Friday, called for an extraordinary meeting of the society members to try and solve concerns raised.
However, at the meeting, the members expressed fear of possible collusion between the board and management to defraud the SACCO, prompting the minister to ask for audit reports but this too was missing.
This prompted the minister to order for a financial audit.
He also ordered the immediate suspension of Kaitana and instructed the District Commercial Officer Wilson Kagumire, to temporarily take charge of the society pending investigations.
“The regulations require that someone can only serve for two terms of four years each. All the reports that will be compiled thereafter will find him out of the office and later the AGM should convene to elect new leaders,” said the State Minister for Microfinance Haruna Kyeyune.
However, Vincent Kaitana denied allegations raised by the members against him.
He told theCooperator that “there is no way the Society could be mismanaged without the direct intervention of the local authorities, who still hold his leadership in high regard.”
Kyazanga Kwegatta Savings and Credit Society Limited has a membership of 5,580 and a share capital of Shs13 billion.
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