Archive for year: 2019

WAKISO, Uganda: Government is committed to ensuring that Cooperatives are revamped to its former glory, President Yoweri Museveni has reaffirmed.

In a speech read on his behalf by the 3rd Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Moses Ali during this year’s international Cooperative Day held at Wakiso District Playgrounds on Saturday, Museveni said that his government was committed to the payment of all compensation claims by Cooperatives as a result of war losses.

A number of Cooperative Unions across the country were part of several organized groups that contributed logistical support to the National Resistance Movement’s Bush war between 1981-86, that toppled the Tito Okello government and ushered President Museveni into power.

Once in power, the NRM government was, as part of its economic recovery program, supposed to compensate the affected cooperatives for the losses suffered during the war, amounting to over Ugx160 billion. An investigation by theCooperator early this year, however, found that most of the Cooperatives have yet to be paid, 33 years down the road.

TheCooperator has however learned that compensations are now ongoing. At the launch of the Cooperative week at the Uganda Media Center on Thursday last week, Trade Industry and Cooperatives Minister Hon. Amelia Kyambadde announced that over 10 cooperative unions countrywide had already received part compensation payments from the government. These include Masaba Cooperative Union, Lango Cooperative Union, East & west Acholi, Masaka, Busoga Growers, and Banyankole Kweterana, Kigezi, Teso and Nyakatonzi Cooperatives Union.

On Saturday, Gen. Moses Ali assured the cooperators that government was committed to supporting Cooperative Unions to get back to their feet: “My message to you is that we(government) are committed to ensuring that cooperatives get back to being as strong as they are,” said Gen. Ali.

State Minister for Trade Hon. Michael Werikhe also told the cooperators that the government was set to revive the Cooperative Bank, following the enactment of the Cooperative Act by parliament in May.

Speaking to theCooperator, Leonard Okello, the Chief Executive Officer of the Uhuru Institute for Social Development welcomed what he called Government’s “renewed commitment” to cooperatives, arguing that they(cooperatives) are a critical means towards attaining an equitable society with the citizen at the center of an inclusive, cooperative, and accountable economic system. He commended the Cooperator for being a steadfast mouthpiece of the Cooperatives movement.

The weeklong celebrations were marked with multi-denominational prayers across the country, and a host of other activities that included cleaning of markets, blood donation drives, and tree planting exercises. In the blood donation drive that was launched early last week, over 500 units of blood were collected. At the medical camp at Wakiso conducted by Uganda Red Cross, over 50 males received free male circumcision.

This year’s Cooperatives Week was jointly organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Walimu SACCO, the Uhuru Institute for Social Development, the Cooperative Insurance Company and the Uganda Cooperative Alliance.

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KAMPALA, Uganda: Cooperators have been urged to embrace the culture of saving if they’re to lead better lives in retirement.

The call was made during the Cooperative Symposium held at the Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala on Friday. The half-day symposium, held under the theme: ‘Coops 4 Decent Work’ was attended by policymakers, analysts, academicians, and cooperators drawn from across the country.

Addressing participants on planning for retirement, the director communications at the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (UBRA), Hajji Hassan Nakabale argued that it is possible to rally cooperators to prioritize saving:

“We can change the minds of the cooperators to consider saving for retirement as a priority. Let’s establish & license our own operative voluntary retirement scheme and we save for our old age,” he said.

Supplementing Hajji Nakabale’s remarks, Mr. Sajjabi Geoffrey the Head of Business at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) called upon cooperators to always think about tomorrow: “Uncertainty will always be with us. You need, as cooperators, to start thinking of how to save for your retirement when you grow old, or pass on.” he advised.

In a country where mandatory savings are often presumed to be the preserve of the formally employed, Sajjabi hastened to warn even those in the informal sector that even they suffer the effects of unplanned retirement: “Even running a business in Kikubo has a limit. Even farmers retire. How are you preparing for that uncertainty,” he mused.

According to NSSF, Uganda has 4million formally salaried workers, 2 million of whom have social security savings. on the other hand, there are 11million Ugandans who remain unsaved. Majority of these remain engaged in the Agriculture sector.

The fund’s Managing Director Mr. Richard Byarugaba told TheCooperator that following the launch of voluntary membership scheme by NSSF in 2017 to recruit clients from the informal sector, the scheme had so far attracted over 19,000 members. As a result, he said, the Fund(NSSF) is currently collecting shs.1.4b monthly in form of voluntary savings.

“This is significant growth from the shs.200m monthly savings which we were collecting less than two years ago. The (Savings)scheme is growing by about 50% annually,” he says.

Byarugaba says the voluntary membership scheme may hit over shs10b from the current Shs.7b. He attributes the scheme’s growing appeal to the new innovations that NSSF has come up with, such as the use of mobile phones for transactions which he says had increased member contributions by over 14%.

The Social Security Fund announced early this year that general NSSF savings had hit shs.1.05 trillion in the 2018/19 financial year, compared to the shs.917 billion generated in 2017/18.

On the state of Occupational Health and Safety in the country, Eng. Odongo Francis Gimoro, the Assistant Commissioner for Occupational Safety and Health in the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development said that government had put in place policies to ensure implementation of Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace, but hastened to add that observing these policies would require the cooperation of everybody, especially employers and employees:

“As Cooperatives, ensure that cooperators you employ are safe from any injuries or risks while at the place of work,” said Odongo. “Employers are supposed to provide a working environment free of risk, and ensure safe and healthy premises,” he added.

He urged the cooperators to acquaint themselves with the various policies and laws that have been put in place to guarantee workers’ safety and security, such as the Workers Compensation Act, the Employment Act, the Public Health Act, and the Labor Unions Act.

The Symposium was organized by the Uhuru Institute for Social Development in conjunction with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, and the Uganda Cooperative Alliance, as part of the activities to mark this year’s International Day of Cooperatives.

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KAMPALA, Uganda: Cooperators have been urged to embrace the culture of saving if they’re to lead better lives in retirement.

The call was made during the Cooperative Symposium held at the Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala on Friday. The half-day symposium, held under the theme: ‘Coops 4 Decent Work’ was attended by policymakers, analysts, academicians, and cooperators drawn from across the country.

Addressing participants on planning for retirement, the director communications at the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (UBRA), Hajji Hassan Nakabaale argued that it is possible to rally cooperators to prioritize saving:

“We can change the minds of the cooperators to consider saving for retirement as a priority. Let’s establish & license our own operative voluntary retirement scheme and we save for our old age,” he said.

Supplementing Hajji Nakabaale’s remarks, Mr. Sajabi Geoffrey the Head of Business at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) called upon cooperators to always think about tomorrow: “Uncertainty will always be with us. You need, as cooperators, to start thinking of how to save for your retirement when you grow old, or pass on.” he advised.

In a country where mandatory savings are often presumed to be the preserve of the formally employed, Sajabi hastened to warn even those in the informal sector that even they suffer the effects of unplanned retirement: “Even running a business in Kikubo has a limit. Even farmers retire. How are you preparing for that uncertainty,” he mused.

According to NSSF, there are only 4 million people in formal salary employment countrywide. Of these, only 2 million are covered with a pension, while the remaining 11 million under the informal sector are uncatered for.

Ssejjabi said that following the introduction of the voluntary NSSF saving scheme, at least shs105b is being saved monthly, with current figures standing at shs1.4b.

“We may hit shs.4b by next year. So my advice to the cooperators here is that instead of investing in beer, (Tusker), instead of taking five, start by reducing to 4, 3 and eventually two and one so that you may save and take that Tusker during your old age,” he appealed.

On the state of Occupational Health and Safety in the country, Eng. Odongo Francis Gimoro, the Assistant Commissioner for Occupational Safety and Health in the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development said that government had put in place policies to ensure implementation of Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace, but hastened to add that observing these policies would require the cooperation of everybody, especially employers and employees:

“As Cooperatives, ensure that cooperators, whom you employ are safe from any injuries or risks while at the place of work,” said Odongo. “Employers are supposed to provide a working environment free of risk, and ensure safe and healthy premises,” he added.

He urged the cooperators to acquaint themselves with the various policies and laws that have been put in place to guarantee workers’ safety and security, such as the Workers Compensation Act, the Employment Act, the Public Health Act, and the Labor Unions Act.

The Symposium was organized by the Uhuru Institute for Social Development in conjunction with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, and the Uganda Cooperative Alliance, as part of the activities to mark this year’s International Day of Cooperatives.

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State Minister for Cooperatives, Frederick Gume, has called upon members of the cooperative movement to sustain the example of planting trees, noting that they(trees) not only preserve the environment but can also act as a source of revenue to many.

He made the remarks while presiding over the tree planting drive in Gomba district on Tuesday, ahead of the 96th United Nations International Day of Cooperatives celebrations that were held yesterday in Wakiso District.

The tree-planting exercise, one of the many initiatives that were carried out by cooperators in the week-long commemorative activities that climaxed yesterday, was aimed at encouraging investment in tree planting as a sustainable investment option.

In a bid to popularize the function and importance of Cooperatives across the country, Hon. Gume noted that his ministry was trying to advocate for the inclusion of cooperatives as a key subject of study in the schools’ curriculum that’s currently under review. In addition to the knowledge, Gume argued that such learning would challenge children to grow up with saving culture.

Already, Gume noted that the Cooperatives Movement was already numerically strong and with vast potential. He gave the example of the teachers’ cooperative –Walimu SACCO, which he said that with a membership of about 200,000 teachers, they were capable of starting their own bank. “If each teacher saved UGX 50,000 for 5 years, that would amount to UGX.60bn, which would be enough to start a Commercial Cooperative bank,” he said.

Walimu SACCO were the chief organizers of the Gomba event, and they have already planted over 5acres of trees in Gomba District to sustain rainfall in the district and guard against the now frequent dry spells in the area.

Among the other guests at the tree-planting exercise were the Registrar of Cooperatives Mr. Joseph William Kitandwe, and the Chief Executive Officer of The Uhuru Institute for Social Development Leonard Okello. Each of them planted five trees at the Gomba District headquarters and at the Farmer’s Cooperative Union Limited offices to mark the event

In conjunction with Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA), Uhuru Institute for Social Development and Cooperative Insurance Company (CIC) the Cooperative Movement has been able to supply tree seedlings for planting across the country in support of the 2019 Co-operative theme; “Cooperatives for Decent Work

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KAMPALA, Uganda: This year’s Cooperative Week Celebrations have been launched with a call for immediate assenting to the Cooperative Amendment Bill 2016 by the President.

The week long event was launched by the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister, Hon, Amelia Kyambadde yesterday.

The theme of this year’s celebrations to be marked on July 6 2019 at Wakiso District headquarters is “Cooperatives for Decent Work”.

The International Coop Day event will be co-hosted by the teachers’ Walimu SACCO and the Cooperative Insurance Company Limited (CIC).

Other partners supporting the weeklong celebrations include; Uganda Cooperative Alliance, The Uhuru Institute for Social Development, and the International Cooperative Alliance.

Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde revealed that they had invited President Yoweri Museveni to be Chief Guest at the main celebrations to be held at the Wakiso District Headquarters playground.

Addressing the press at the Uganda Media Center, Hon. Kyambadde said the weeklong event will start with National Prayers with the Muslim Community on Friday, 28 June 2019 at Old Kampala Mosque, and across all mosques country wide.

On Saturday, June 29th, prayers will be held by all Seventh Day Adventist churches countrywide, with main celebrations to be conducted at the Seventh Day Adventists Community at Makerere Church (opposite LDC).

On Sunday, 30th June 2019, National Prayers with Christians will be held at Rubaga and Namirembe Cathedrals and through the National Fellowship of Born Again Pentecostal Churches across the country.

The countrywide cleaning of markets kicks off on Monday 1st July with the climax of the activity to be held at Nakawa Market led by Hon. Amelia Kyambadde.

The coop week event will also involve the National Tree Planting Campaign to kick-start on Tuesday, 2nd July in Gomba.

National Country wide blood donation starts on Wednesday, 3rd July 2019 spearheaded by the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service in Constitutional Square in Kampala, St. Balikudembe Market and Ham Towers in Kampala.

There will be a Medical Camp in Wakiso District Headquarters as well as a sports Gala, a Cooperative Symposium and Exhibitions at the Wakiso District Council Hall on Friday.

Call for revival of Cooperative bank

Leonard Okello, the Chief Executive Officer of The Uhuru Institute for Social Development says that the 2019 Cooperative Week comes amidst an increase in the number of cooperatives being registered, and argues that the efforts towards rebuilding the businesses of the older unions should remain a key focus of cooperatives and Government.

Addressing the press on the sidelines of the launch, Okello argued: “ The government should finalize the War Losses compensation to the Cooperatives Unions so that such resources can be used to capitalize their businesses.”

He noted that Cooperatives continue to suffer the closure of the Cooperative Bank, and called upon the government to put in place an alternative: “Government should consider availing a fund that can kick start the reestablishment of the cooperative bank by giving priority to the original shareholders of the bank,” he said.

When contacted, Kyambadde noted that the government was aware of the plight facing Cooperatives and that the revival of the Cooperative Bank was one of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industry that debated the Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill (2016): “All the necessary paperwork is being worked on, and it may take us like two years to revive the Cooperative Bank,” said Amelia.

Mr. Okello called for increased regulatory oversight over Cooperatives, noting that it was important to stave off corrupt tendencies that could be fatal for cooperatives.

“This can be achieved through reestablishing a fully-fledged Cooperative Ministry, with skilled staff and a sizeable budget that can increase national outreach,” he advised.

The International Cooperatives Day is marked every first Saturday of July around the World, and it has been annually marked for the last 97 years.

The Uhuru Institute for Social Development works with Cooperatives, Government, MDAs, Development Partners and private businesses to advance and apply the cooperative business model in pursuit of inclusive socio-economic development.

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