Poor Emyooga performance in Uganda’s North, East worrying - MSC

Uganda’s Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) authorities have expressed concern over poor performance of government’s Emyooga program in Eastern and Northern Uganda, arguing that most projects in the regions have been personalized, limiting efficiency of the funds.

Ms Agness Kaubbala a director at MSC says there is a great need to benchmark from western Uganda for the whole country to perform to standard.

“I come from Eastern Uganda. In the East, the performance of the Emyoga is not good like here at all. A group having 80% recovery is a miracle. If you compare, Eyoga in the East and North are not working,” Ms Kaubbala observed in Western Uganda’s Ntungamo District on Wednesday.

Speaking during the monitoring visit to the district’s best assessed Emyooga Sacco identified as Ruhaama Produce Dealers’ Sacco, Ms Kaubbala noted that the system (Emyooga) has led to mass saving from the Saccos across the country to a tune of Shs500 billion which may increase mass participation.

Citing eastern Uganda, Karamoja and West Nile regions, she said the program was far from picking as it may have not been well understood on inception in the areas.

“I went to Karamoja, a group of women came dancing and appreciating what government had done, in the end they told us they left the money to one person because her alone could handle the money, she established a shop and gives them salt on credit, they didn’t know it was their money,” she explained.

Ruhaama Produce Dealers’ Sacco Chairperson Sabath Hellen Rugasira said the Sacco has grown its loan portfolio to Shs500 million since 2021 with over Shs100 million savings. They have also invested in value addition for the produce. Additionally, the Sacco has since received ICT equipment, furniture and additional seed capital from the MSC to boost productivity.

“We are hardworking. We were not organized as produce dealers in the beginning and when this came up it just opened our eyes. We are still growing,” Ms Rugasira told Monitor.

Ntungamo Commercial Officer Mr Niwagaba Sezzi said the district has 87 Emyooga Saccos in four counties and 80% are performing well.

Mr Copper Charles, a member of the Emyooga district executive said most Sacco leaders were never trained to handle finances which has relatively slowed the initiative in some areas.

Emyooga program was first implemented in the country in 2001 through the MSC giving out seed capital to neglected specialized skills organized at county level. Each county is expected to have 17 Saccos organized under the skills with government injecting at least Shs30 million in each cooperative.