Archive for month: September, 2018

Egessa Hajusu

Traders under Busia produce dealers’ multi-purpose cooperative society have asked the government to protect them from Kenyan counterparts.

The traders want government to stop Kenyan traders from skipping their cooperatives and enter into the interior where they buy produce directly from farmers.

“What kind of government is this, that cannot protect its traders from foreigners,” wondered trader Asuman Munubi who requested cabinet to intervene and address their concern.

They expressed disappointment that the practice has suffocated their cooperatives, kicked them out of business, leaving them with thousands of tons of produce in the stores.

Busia produce market attracts buyers from Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The traders said this during a chat with the Cooperator.

The Kenyans no longer buy from Busia produce market, when they cross the border they go as far as Soroti, Lira, Gulu, Masaka, Mubende and Mbarara among others where they spend days to buy, collect and store produce then go back to Kenya.

What angers the traders is that the Kenyan do all this without Ugandan leaders pointing a finger which is contrary to what happens when Ugandan traders go to Kenya.

The traders who deal in all types of corn and grain feared that traders from other countries will soon start emulating the Kenyans by going in the countryside and stop buying from them.

“We are now depending only on local buyer’s that mainly take small quantities for home consumption,” Peter Wandera another trader lamented.

Commenting on the issue, Oundo Ongwabe the chairperson cross border traders association (CBTA) said the Kenyan traders were violating the essence of Regional and East African Community economic integration.

Foreigners can enter into another country and buy goods from zonal markets like Busia main market but not directly from producers.

The common market should not be abused Ongwabe said, and advised the traders to get organized work collectively for their own good and stop betraying each other.

Kenyans he said have, been ushered into Uganda’s interior by the very traders who are now complaining.

The Busia Municipality Member of Parliament Geoffrey Macho said he was equally distributed. He assured the traders that government is going to find a solution to the problem.

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High Court in Mbale has issued an injunction stopping Bugisu Cooperative Union (BCU) Board led by Nandala Mafabi from handling the affairs of the farmers’ group, arguing that their term of office expired.

BCU is comprised of 274 farmer groups but five of them, which Muruba, Bumatofu, Bumusabire, Bumbobi and Bukhaweka, had dragged the Board led by Mr Nandala to court, claiming that he could not continue transacting business on behalf of the Union when their term expired in March.

And on Wednesday, Justice Tadeo Asiimwe ruled that the Board should stop handling the Union affairs until a fresh election is held.

“The old board of the respondent shall cease to handle the affairs of the respondent for 30 days or until otherwise directed by the court or registrar of cooperatives,” Justice Asiimwe said.

“The general manager of the respondent is authorized to run the affairs of the respondents for the period of 30 days. The registrar of cooperatives should give directives and guidance as to what happens in the transition between now and November when the AGM is scheduled to take place,” he added.

Mr Nandala has served as BCU Chairperson for two consecutive terms. In the latest term, he was elected in 2016 and his term of office expired in March.

BCU is Uganda’s only surviving cooperative society. It’s an establishment that has existed since the colonial times. However, it has of late faced leadership challenges, including allegations of abuse of office, lack of transparency, mismanagement of Unions funds.

However, the Nandala leadership denies the allegations and instead accuses government of political interference in a bid to fail the association.

Commenting on the ruling, Mr Nandala said they had delayed to hold the annual AGM in order to give other primary societies time to meet the requirements to participate in the voting exercise.

“The court has helped because now we can hold AGM even if it’s only 10 primary societies that qualify but we had wanted all primary societies to vote,” he said.

Mr Nandala Mafabi further explained that they have a letter from the registrar of cooperatives allowing the current board to continue with its work until a new board is elected in November.

SOURCE: Chimp Reports

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By Egessa Hajusu

The elderly people in Eastern Uganda have embraced savings and credit cooperatives (SACCO’S) so as to participate in the area’s social economic development.

Speaking to the Cooperator in telephone interview, John Peter Eremu Anyau the area deputy national chairperson elders league who coordinates the exercise said, the elderly have been left out and ignored because they are looked at as stale people, only waiting to die.

“We have wide experience in handling money and so we want to get involved in offering financial services, he said and noting the elderly that are still active, should be able to fend for themselves and stop relying on their overburdened children.

Some districts in the region have already been cleared by registrar’s office while others are in registration and formation processes, in the exercise which was launched last year.

The plan, Anyau said, is to enable all districts in the region have a big Sacco at a district level to address the problem of small mushrooming Sacco’s at the sub county levels.

“This will serve the purpose of efficiency, effectiveness and strength,” Anyau said adding that inadequate capital has been the main reason for the collapse of many Sacco’s. Eastern regional is comprised of of Bukedi, Busoga, Bugisu, and Sebei sub regions.

The district Sacco, Anyau said is made up of thirty elderly people from each village registered at respective sub counties as community based organisations, with a selected enterprise to undertake.

The group buys a minimum of two shares at shillings twenty thousand in addition to a membership fee of shillings ten thousand.

The membership of the elders Sacco’s, he said, is also open to the general public but the executive committees are run by people aged sixty years.

On the Sacco’s financing, Anyau said, just like other businesses in order for the Sacco’s to operate effectively and on daily basis, they will access financing from loans, grants and other sources of funding.

“We are trying to avoid a situation of entirely relying on savings from our shareholders, and avoid stagnation by waiting for the borrowed money to be brought back before new transactions begin,” he said.

District Sacco’s should be able to make profits, cater for their expenses and generate surpluses for the purposes of development.

He appealed to districts that have not completed registration to expedite the process saying commissioning of SACCO’s will soon being.

Zachariah Wanyama the chairperson Busia district elders Sacco said, their long term object is to start a Bank, medical scheme and create centers where the elderly can be taken care off.

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