DOKOLO-The Dokolo district Woman Member of Parliament, Cecilia Atim Ogwal has pledged to continue rendering financial support to the Village Savings and Loan Associations [VSLAs] in the district so that they are able to enhance the saving culture.
MP Ogwal said she would want to see VSLAs in her district grow into bigger saving groups and subsequently become cooperatives that can support their members.
Ogwal said she has so far given out over Shs 10 million in financial support to VSLAs in her district, adding that she is complementing government efforts of providing affordable finance to small groups engaged in income-generating activities.
Dokolo district has 10 sub-counties of Agwata, Adok, Adeknino, Kangai, Kwera, Bata, Okwalongwen, Okongodul, Amwoma, and Dokolo, with all the sub-counties having VSLAs.
The MP said her initiative is to help the community recover after experiencing the devastating effects of the Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] insurgency that devastated Northern Uganda for two decades.
“I hired Enterprise Uganda to talk to them about financial literacy because we noted that they [VSLA members] save and share the money during Christmas, then the business ends there,” she added.
The Dokolo district LC5 chairperson, James Otto said a number of VLSA groups in the district have picked up with some benefiting the Emyooga, a presidential initiative on wealth and job creation.
VSLAs empower rural communities to take control of their personal finances. Each member of the group saves, takes out loans, repays loans with interest, and invests. VSLA participants have been known to save money for their children’s education, invest in livestock, or start a small business.
Most VSLAs are self-capitalised using the Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) model, where members can pool their savings and borrow from them.
https://thecooperator.news/gulu-city-vslas-become-cooperatives/
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