Shs 200mln Emyooga funds unused as Gulu city groups keep away

GULU– A total of Shs 200 million Emyooga seed capital for five different categories of groups in Gulu city is lying idle in the bank accounts, two years after the launch of programme aimed at improving the incomes of Ugandans in the informal sector.

Emyooga programme, a presidential initiative on wealth and job creation was launched in August 2019 as part of the broad government strategy targeting to transform 68 percent of homesteads from subsistence to market-oriented production with the overall objective of promoting job creation and improving household incomes.

The initiative is centered on various 18 categories or enterprises covering the majority of the hitherto, financially excluded Ugandans engaged in similar specialised enterprise categories.

Gulu City received a total of over Shs 1.1 billion, with Laroo Pece and Bardege Layibo Divisions each receiving Shs 560mln meant for Emyooga groups.

However, the Emyooga groups that were supposed to get the money have remained inactive, with their leaders not willing to organise members to get the money for business activities.

The groups that have failed to ask for the money represent the categories of; tailors, mechanics, veterans, and journalists from Laroo-Pece Division, and carpenters and local leaders from Bardege Layibi division.

Nixon Komakech Atemo, the Gulu city principal commercial officer said of the six groups, only local leaders from Bardege Layibi Division picked Shs 10mlnn of the allocated Shs 50mln and are yet to refund the money.

Komakech said the other five groups have never picked the money from the bank. The authorities, he said, are yet to decide whether to distribute the money to other active groups within the city or take it back to the national coffers.

According to Komakech, apparently many of the leaders of these groups have challenges in understanding the requirements, including saving before picking loans among others.

“The leadership of the groups are failing their members because even when we try to mobilize and sensitize them to ease the process of collecting money, they don’t show up. I have problems with the journalist’s group who, after informing the masses about the programme, haven’t picked even Shs 1mln,” Komakech said.

Currently, Gulu Main Market vendors are the most active group, saving Shs 50mln and Shs 6mln as interest from the 32mln seed capital they received under the Emyooga programme.

Jane Okilli, the Gulu Resident City Commissioner said she would hold meetings with the inactive groups so that she is able to understand the challenges hindering them from utilising the government money.

“This money was injected to take people out of poverty, but these particular groups are not picking, yet they could be struggling financially,” Okili said.

Stephen Oceng, a member of the mechanics sub-group says there`s a need to sensitise all the members of the groups, not just leaders as was the case previously.

Oceng says that through this, members understand what and how they can access the funds.

“Members have challenges with understanding the loan application, repayment and if for example, after how long they get back their savings from the bank,” Oceng said.

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