NATIONAL-Sunday’s death of former Minister of Cooperatives and Marketing, Yona Kanyomozi is a big blow to the Cooperative Movement in Uganda as the deceased was its strongest pillar, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu has said of the former Uganda People’s Congress [UPC] politician.
“The Cooperative Movement in Uganda has lost its pillar [Kanyomozi],” Prof Kamuntu said over a phone interview with this reporter, adding that Kanyomozi through cooperatives, worked to uplift the livelihoods of peasants across Uganda.
The late Kanyomozi, Kamuntu said, was a socialist economist who believed in the empowerment of the ordinary people. “He believed that smallholder homesteads could compete with big farmers if the latter were well organised,” Kamuntu said, adding that, “Kanyomozi was born a cooperator”, having been born at the time when the Cooperative Movement in Uganda was a dominant force and undergoing a significant transformation.
Kamuntu who also served UPC government said Kanyomozi revived cooperatives after he was appointed minister in 1980. Kamuntu credited Kanyomozi for reorganising cooperatives in coffee and cotton growing areas after 1979 war. “He restored the Coffee Marketing Board and coffee became a major export commodity in a short time,” Kamuntu said of his former colleague.
Kanyomozi made a mark in the Cooperative Movement and Economic history of Uganda,” Kamuntu, once a lecturer of commerce said, adding that Kanyomozi was a true Ugandan patriot and Pan Africanist who worked with others irrespective of their political, religious, or ethnic backgrounds.
However, Kamuntu said, despite Kanyomozi’s willingness to work with different people during his lifetime, it was hard to persuade him to leave his political party the UPC. “He is one of those people who don’t forget where they came from. Kanyomozi’s political umbilical cord was attached to UPC. He could not leave it [UPC],” Kamuntu said.
Miria Obote, the wife of former president Milton Obote who attended the requiem service for Kanyomozi at All Saints Church Nakasero yesterday said he loved his party and that the party will miss him.
Meanwhile, Namisindwa East MP John Musila, who refers to himself as a senior cooperator, when contacted to comment about the late Kanyomozi, said the cooperators and the country at large will miss Kanymozi, stating that Kanyomozi did not only revive and promote cooperatives but also secured their future by providing them with vehicles and other facilities like planting materials and chemicals.
“I come from Bugisu and I am a member of Bugisu Cooperative Union [BCU]. BCU got 50 trucks through a government a grant, even though some of the vehicles were messed up by soldiers during the war,” Musila said, calling upon Ugandans to pick some lessons from the late Kanyomozi.
When contacted, Dokolo Woman MP, Cecilia Ogwal said though she was not involved in the Cooperative Movement, she was aware of Kanyomozi’s positive contribution to the country. “I cannot help you much but you can contact those in the cooperatives side to give you substantive information,” she said.
Speaking to Douson Mwijuka, former chairman Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union [BKCU], said Kanyomozi started as commissioner for cooperatives before being appointed a minister of cooperatives during Obote’s regime.
“While in office, Kanyomozi ensured development of all cooperatives without discrimination,” said Atwijuka.
“During his time as the minister that’s when cooperative societies were at its peak. He could not discriminate whether a cooperative was big or small but would wish to develop all cooperatives in different areas across Uganda,” said Mwijuka.
“He promoted cooperatives all over Uganda including those that were found in every household and that is why Banyankole Kweterana in Ankole and Bugisu Cooperative Union in Mt Elgon and cooperatives in northern Uganda were booming during that time. Actually cooperatives did well during his time as minister,” he added.
Lay Can Sam Mugabe, chairperson Abateganda Growers Co-operative also hailed the deceased as a person who served selflessly for the development of the Cooperative Movement in Uganda.
“Even currently before he died, he would not miss to attend our annual general meetings and was always respected during our cooperative meetings whenever he could stand to give his remarks,” said Mugabe.
He started sub-county cooperatives such as Ruyonza Co-operative society, Kiyaga Co-operative Society among others, as he represented Kajara County in the National Resistance Council from 1989 to 1996.
“Of course with the initiative of the government in support, some of the cooperative societies started during Obote I regime but there are those in Kajara that started during Kanyomozi’s,” Mugabe explained.
In Ntungamo Municipality, he had put up a dairy farm at Rukindo Village, a banana plantation and a piggery project at Kabahambi Village, among many projects.
As the Minister for Cooperatives, Kanyomozi equipped major cooperative societies, including Kigezi and Banyakole Kweterana with vehicles to carry produce such as coffee, cotton among others.
“With the government support, Kanyomozi secured transport means for cooperatives. For example, in Kajara they had buses acquired through cooperatives [Kitunga Bus Services], Abateganda Growers Co-operative also got a lorry truck, Rubare, Ruhama, Katojo cooperative among others also had vehicles,” said Mugabe.
Kanyomozi had also planted more than 30, 0000 coffee trees from which locals drew inspiration to improve on their household income.
Through cooperatives, the late Kanyomozi cherished education. “With government support, Kanyomozi educated most children in Ntungamo district. He paid school fees for almost everyone in need and fostered orphans, including the Muntuyera family,” Mugabe said.
“The late also offered jobs and connected graduates to available job opportunities in Kajara at the time he was a Member of Parliament,” he added.
Isaiah Kakuba, who worked with Kanyomozi as the assistant cooperative officer equivalent to an assistant registrar in 1980, said Kanyomozi will always be remembered as a true cooperator who lived to the international co-op principles and who supported cooperatives in form of matching grants through the national unions.
“He used to provide matching grants like roofs, cement among others through the Uganda cooperative alliance to the weak cooperatives to construct permanent structures with a store, shade, office and safes to push them to the standards.”
Through the Cooperative Bank, Kakuba said the deceased would also offer credit skilling to farmers and credit cooperatives for them to develop fast.
Kakuba believes that strong cooperatives ended during Kanyomozi’s time after the ushering in of the National resistance movement government which never considered cooperatives to foster Uganda’s development.
“During that time, the government of Obote II itself was promoting cooperatives and they were all active but the new government said that cooperatives were not a priority and they faded during that time,” said Kakuba.
The UPC stalwart, between 2001 and 2006, represented Uganda at the East African Legislative Assembly EALA.
Besides his political career, Kanyomozi served as an economic advisor to the defunct Uganda Electricity Board [UEB] from 1966 to 1970, Director of Industrial Development Centre from 1970 to 1972, Assistant General Manager of the East African External Telecommunications Company from 1972 to 1977, Associate Consultant at Price Waterhouse, among others.
Kanyomozi will be laid to rest at his home in Rwashamaire parish, Nyabihoko Sub-county, Kajara, Ntungamo district on Friday, September 2, 2022. He is survived by seven children and several grandchildren.
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