MBARARA CITY, June 10, 2024 – Preparations are underway as Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union [BKCU] Limited prepares to hold its 51st Annual General Meeting [ AGM ].
According to Margaret Birungi, General Manager, the AGM will take place on June 21, 2024, at the head office Kakoba, Mbarara City.
Birungi asked primary societies affiliated with the Union to send in two delegates for the AGM.
“The Chairman Board and management of Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union Limited inform its members that the 51st Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday, June 21, 2024, at 9:00 am. Matters to discuss are so important,” she said.
Birungi said that the board and the management have visited a total of 71 primary cooperative societies conducting pre-AGMs thus expecting a total of 142 delegates to attend the annual general meeting slated 21st June, 2024.
She said efforts are ongoing to renergise BKCU, thus appealing to the delegates to come with more innovative and developmental ideas rather than coming to the AGM to disrupt the projects intended to restore the lost glory of BKCU.
According Abaasa Ainamani Rubaromba, the BKCU Chairman, among the projects to be discussed further during the AGM include; revising the weighbridge, planting of coffee on all the BKCU lands, establishing a union SACCO among others.
“We have embarked on the campaign of planting coffee to protect all our land from grabbers. I am sure those who visited the union land in Ndeija must have seen some coffee,” he said.
He said that they have already planted almost 5,000 coffee seedlings in Ndeija, Bushenyi district and more will be planted in Bwongyera land in Ntungamo, Ibanda and Mitooma districts.
“We had a challenge whereby our workers would delay to get their payment but now that we have planted coffee, in two years it will be an income to sort their salaries on time,” said Rubaromba.
The chairman also pledged to settle the union’s debts as the union resumes serious coffee business.
“We are still demanding the compensation money from government about Shs 7 billion, we are also selling Mutonto land, our weigh bridge at Kakoba head office is also fetching about Shs 5 million every month. So within this recovery campaign, I promise that we are going to pay all the debts,” noted Rubaromba.
He added that BKCU’s annual income has so far increased to Shs 300mln from Shs 20mln in 2020, thus appealing to the delegates to exploit all the avenues available for the Union to progress.
“Much as our income dwindles on coffee, we are thinking of starting a SACCO to act as a financial muscle for our members in case of a challenge that may arise. We are also thinking of opening up coffee roasting business to add value to our coffee at the union,” he said.
He added: “You cannot compare the price of a kilogramme of green coffee beans with a kilo of roasted coffee whose price ranges from Shs 30,000 to Shs 40,000 per kilogramme.”
Rubaromba added, “When I assumed office, the Union’s income was low yet the debts had accumulated to a total of about Shs 2.5bln including Uganda Central Co-operative Finance Services [UCCFS] loan, MSC among others. Court cases were many but I want to inform you that recently we won a case which was going to cost us about Shs 500mln that was filed by the former Chairman Mr. Baingana Geoffrey who sued BKCU for unlawfully removing him from office. You think this is a small achievement?”
He therefore appealed to delegates to turn up in big numbers for the deliberation and goodness of their union.
https://thecooperator.news/huge-debts-force-banyankole-kweterana-coop-to-sell-prime-land/
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