No Ugandan has reason to be poor while others are prospering, says Minister Kasolo
Minister Kasolo says that Ugandans should use Emyooga money to lift themselves out of poverty. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- Minister Kasolo says that government wants to see every Ugandan engage in an economic activity
State Minister for Microfinance Haruna Kasolo has said there is no reason for any Ugandan to remain poor while others are prospering.
Speaking during a status visit of Emyooga beneficiary projects in eastern Uganda in different constituencies of Budaama, Tororo District, Mr Kasolo said Emyooga was part of a larger good through which government is seeking to empower local populations that can later use mobilised resources to change their lives.
"For me, I want to see every Ugandan engage in an economic activity. We don't have to be poor. Why should you be poor when others are not? You don't have to be poor," he said.
The minister had led a team under the Microfinance Support Centre to examine Emyooga beneficiary projects in a progress tour that is currently ongoing across the country.
The tour is focused on the need to emphasises proper usage of money disbursed towards different projects to eliminate poverty from households through creation of income-generating businesses.
The Emyooga programme, Mr Kasolo said was part of the different projects designed by government to provide Ugandans with affordable capital to facilitate the growth of their businesses.
However, he noted, the programme is largely built as a revolving fund that must benefit others, warning that defaulters must be handled to make sure that everyone pays back money advanced, for onward lending.
Ms Josephine Amanda Omala, one of the beneficiaries, said the Emyooga programme had awakened the importance of rural women in society, noting that many of them now wake up, just like men to go and grow their businesses.
"We used not to have money in our pockets but nowadays, we wake up early like men and go to work because we got capital. My fish business is now helping me to teach a doctor in the making at the university and in a few years he might be the next minister," she said.
Mr Joseph Tukamushaba, the head of the Emyooga Secretariat, while addressing beneficiaries in West Budaama North East and West Budaama North, said there is a plan to shift focus from working with just institution (Sacco) to individual enterprise.
"Emyooga as a programme is not just about the Shs30m, it is about us and how we can use local resources to change our lives and this has to happen from here. In our journey of transformation, we have talked about capital, and capital is not only about money, capital also needs our brains” he said.
