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Napak flash floods carry away Shs 2 million worth of village savings

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Members of a Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) in Lorengechora town council in Napak district are counting double losses after flash floods carried away the association’s savings box containing about Shs 2 million, in addition to destroying their homes.
The floods, which hit several parts of Napak following heavy rains last Wednesday, swept away several houses including one in which a local VSLA’s savings box was stored.

John Longok, Chairperson of Kituroi VSLA said that the flood carried away a savings box containing up to Shs 2m that members had hoped to share on the weekend.
“We had sat on Monday this week and we resolved to share out the money within the members to help feed their children amidst the current country lockdown but now water has carried away the box with the money. We hope we shall get it back,” he said.
According to Mr. Longok the flood swept away the mud and wattle house where the box was kept. However, no one was harmed.
“Thank God by the time it was raining all the members of that household were in the trading centre, otherwise it [the house’s collapse] would have killed people,” he said.
Grace Nakiru, a member of another savings group, Amorican Village Savings and Loans Association, said the floods also swept away cards that elderly group members were using to access the Senior Citizens Grants (SCGs).

The SCGs are a form of social pension aimed at reducing poverty among the elderly and their families, and administered by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
Andrew Loucho the Mayor of Lorengechora Town Council, one of the worst-hit areas, said the floods have worsened the already harsh conditions under which the people of Lorengechora have been living.
“Several birds have been killed by the floods, and traditional granaries where people kept food destroyed,” he said.
He appealed to the Office of the Prime Minister to come to their aid, saying the community is now helpless.

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One dead, 86 displaced as flash floods devastate Kilembe Mines hospital

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Brian Masereka, 17, a resident of Kyarumba sub county, Kasese district, breathed his last at Kilembe Catholic Church, to where he and dozens of other patients had been evacuated after Kilembe Mines hospital was devastated by flash floods late last week.

Masereka, who had been hooked to a life support machine, was evacuated to the church after the hospital’s electricity support was cut off by floods that burst Nyamwamba River’s banks, washed away a significant section of the hospital and left more than 80 patients stranded.

According to the hospital’s Administrator, Onesmus B. Kibaya, the hospital had 87 patients at the time, about half of them in critical condition.

“We managed to rescue all 87 of our patients, but 45 of them were in critical condition and many were on life support machine,” Kibaya said.

He noted that the whole hospital has been destroyed saying that mortuary, medicine store, Tooto and F and G private wards have been levelled.

It is not the first time that Kilembe Mines Hospital has been devastated by floods.

“On May 1, 2013, we had a similar incident: the hospital and staff quarters were washed away, and the hospital was closed for three months,” Kibaya narrated.

However, this time the damage is more extensive, he added.

“This one is worse than what we experienced in 2013. We have lost the mortuary, medical stores, Tooto Ward and private ward. The generator house is submerged, all the electric poles are down and the administration block is flooded,” Kibaya said.

The hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr. Edward Wefula, declined to comment, saying:

“I am not able to talk to you now. The stress I have is enough for me per now.”

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Masindi farmers demand for coffee hurler from government

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Coffee farmers in Masindi district want government to establish a coffee processing machine within the district, saying that they produce enough coffee to sustain it.

Masindi district has four active coffee cooperatives, namely: Bwijanga Coffee Cooperative Society Limited, Karujubu Coffee Cooperative Society Limited, Pakanyi Coffee Cooperative Society Limited and Alimugonza Coffee Cooperative Society Limited.

Bendicto Ssensaga, the Chairperson, Bwijanga Coffee Cooperative Society Limited the cooperative has over200 members, who own more than 600 acres of coffee.

“People have embraced the cooperative after realising the importance of bulking together; farmers no longer need to sell separately,” Ssensaga said.

He added that the quality of coffee produced by the cooperative has been boosted by training members on how to produce quality coffee and on postharvest handling..

Julius Katusabe, the Chairperson, Pakanyi Coffee Cooperative Society Limited, says that his members have over 200 acres of coffee. Moreover, with more than 500 new coffee farmers expected to join the cooperative soon, he predicts a drastic increase in production over the next two to three years.

Moses Kalyegira, the District Commercial Officer, Masindi, said that all the coffee cooperatives in the district are very active, and each of their members owns at least 2 acres of coffee plantation.

“With this capacity, they are fit to receive the coffee processing hurler since they have enough coffee to feed it,” he said.

Julius Twiine the Regional Coffee Extension Officer, is also of the opinion that Masindi’s farmers are justified in demanding for the coffee hurler.

“The volumes they are producing have extremely increased. Currently coffee farmers in Masindi are producing between 50- 70 tonnes of coffee per season,” he said, adding that the volumes are projected to grow even higher.

“I am expecting the volumes to increase to 200 tonnes per season since Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) has given out millions of coffee seedlings to farmers across the district. In addition, this season UCDA has given out 274 bags of fertilizers and other chemicals to coffee farmers as one way of boosting their production.”

Twiine says Masindi district urgently needs a coffee hurler in order to curb the influence of middlemen who “cheat” farmers every season.

He also called upon private players to invest in the primary processing of hurling since production volumes are going to increase rapidly.

Improved agricultural practices

Twiine is optimistic that as more farmers embrace good agricultural practices, the quality and quantities of coffee produced in the district will improve.

”Now farmers are able to produce quality coffee due to the trainings we have offered to them. For example, these days farmers have stopped harvesting unripe coffee or drying it on the bare ground,” he noted.

The government of Uganda through UCDA has been encouraging farmers to embrace coffee growing and has supplied millions of coffee seedlings to farmers through the Operation Wealth Creation programme.

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Lamwo: 400 LDUs deployed to plant sugarcane due to labour shortage

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Four hundred Local Defence Unit personnel, LDUs, have been deployed to help plant sugarcane for Ayuu Alali Cooperative Society Limited in Lamwo district.

The Ministry of Agriculture resorted to using the LDUs after Mohamoud Abdi Mohammed, Executive Director Horyal Investment Holding Company Limited, the company overseeing the sugarcane project, last week said 600 tonnes of the sugarcane seedlings had already dried up and 800 tonnes were set to expire this week because of shortage of labour.

According to Abdi, the project had only 200 out of the 900 people needed to plant the sugarcane on 6500 hectares of land that are ready for sugarcane growing, out of a total 15,000 hectares.

The company has struggled to recruit local labourers from Lamwo district and continues to face high labour turnover. Attempts to recruit skilled labour from Kamuli district were halted in April over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, 400 LDUs from Lamwo, as well as the neighbouring Kitgum district, were over the weekend taken to the farm to help plant the sugarcane.
Brig. Michael Kabango, the Fifth Infantry Division Commander said the Ministry of Agriculture through other government departments asked for their help in order to save the project.
“After land had been ploughed and seeds procured, government realized there was going to be a very big loss. The ministry approached the relevant leadership, who asked us for help, so that that money, worth billions of shillings, does not go to waste,” Kabango said.
He said all the LDUs involved in the project were screened prior, and will not be allowed to mix with the community, to minimize risks of infection by covid-19.

“We are not mixing with anybody. We are prohibiting contacts with the local population. Ours is easy because it is a force and the soldiers are from within.”

Francis Ojwiya, the Chairperson Ayuu Alali Sugarcane Cooperatives Society said the 400 LDUs will be used for two weeks to help reduce the burden of planting on the 200 civilians.

“There are so many cane seeds drying yet it was bought with public money. Although we are still short by 300 people, the LDUs will help us plant the available cane seeds because they are a heavy workforce,” Ojwiya said.

On whether the LDUs have the skills to plant the sugarcane, Ojwiya said there are many agronomists in the district who are training the LDUs on the job.

“They [agronomists] show you how it is done. The training takes only a short time. Planting is not hard,” Ojwiya said.

Last week, the minister of health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng and Agriculture minister, Vincent Ssempijja, visited the sugar plantation and said government had agreed that 400 workers be brought from Busoga sub-region to save the project, on condition that the labourers are screened.

However, Komakech John Ogwok, the Lamwo district Chairperson, said that he, together with all the district councillors later disagreedwith the plan. This is the second time the district leadership is refusing to importlabour from outside.

“Both presidential directives and MoH guidelines prohibit movement of people. It is sad that the very government that set those rules is the very one going against the rules,” Ogwok said.

“The whole district council is against the idea of bringing workers from outside, but they think we are politicking. We are not. We are not trying to frustrate the project but want to protect our people. This is a matter of life and death.”

Ayuu Alali Sugarcane Cooperatives Society comprises of some 3,000 beneficiaries and has distributed five hectares to each member for sugarcane plantation.

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Kasese teachers’ SACCO donates 500kgs of cassava flour

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Bukonzo United Teachers’ SACCO has donated over 500kgs of cassava flour to the district’s Covid-19 Taskforce as food relief to vulnerable communities in Kasese district,.

Handing over the donation on Tuesday this week, the SACCO’s Chairperson, Erisania Kule said that members had thought it wise to share what little they could with the rest of the community.

“Our SACCO has both teachers and community membership and therefore we must share the little we have with those in need during this lockdown,” Kule said.

He noted that Bukonzo United Teachers SACCO is majorly based on credit and savings, and therefore had to mobilise from its profits for the donations.

“We (the SACCO) have been in existence for ten years and have been earning income, a part of which we have used for this donation,” Kule explained.

Kasese district deputy RDC, Joshua Masereka, who received the donation on behalf of the taskforce, thanked the teachers for the contribution saying theirs was the first SACCO in the district to make a donation.

He called upon other SACCOs to do emulate them in giving back to their communities.

Covid-19 effect

The SACCO’s Chairperson noted with concern the low loan recovery rate in the wake of the Covid-19-related lockdown. In response, the SACCO has since rescheduled members’ outstanding payments by extending the payback period with no penalties.

The ongoing crisis has also forced the SACCO to be more cautious in extending loans to members, depending on how much one has saved, and prioritising those whose businesses are still in operation.

“We are careful with liquidity and are very mindful of how much we give out to customers, except in cases of emergency and for customized loans,” Kule said.

Resilience

Kule believes that if Bukonzo United Teachers’ SACCO is to survive, members must develop the internal capacity of funding it through buying shares.

The SACCO has two categories of members:

“We have those with the mandatory 10 shares, and those (teachers) who buy shares every month. Dividends are shared at the end of each year,” he explained.

As of February this year, the SACCO had 2400 members, each holding a minimum of 10 shares of Shs 20,000 each and a total share capital of Shs 480m.

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Former hotel employees resort to stone crushing to earn a living

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Following the institution of a national lockdown by President Museveni in response to the novel Coronavirus pandemic, several young people in Moroto district found themselves out of work as their employers sought to scale down on staff.

In a bid to earn a living during these hard times, many of these youths have resorted to the arduous activity of stone crushing, the products of which they later sell to cement companies that buy their raw material from Moroto.

Sarah Nangiro, an employee of City Friend hotel in Moroto turned stone crusher told theCooperator that although they are getting some money from breaking and selling stones such as marble and limestone to the cement factories, the work is extremely difficult.

“At the hotel we were assured of breakfast, lunch and sometimes supper on top of earning our monthly salaries, but since they told us to stop, life became hard. We pray that the disease stops so that we can resume our work,” she said.

She added that, when they have a little money, they hire some village youths more experienced at this task, to break the stones for them.

Last resort

John Lokol, who earned Shs 200,000 a month working with Leslona Hotel in Moroto before the lockdown, said breaking stones for sale was the only employment option left for them if they were to avoid getting involved in criminal activities.

“As you know that the idle mind is evil, if we were to remain sitting without doing some work, honestly some of us would have been tempted to do funny things against the law for survival,” he said.

Lokol said since he started breaking stones he has sold about three trips for which he is awaiting payment in two weeks’ time.

According to Lokol, a full tipper lorry of 30 tonnes fetches between Shs 150,000 and Shs 200,000, but is much more labour intensive compared to working in the hotel.

“The funny part of this work is that your stones are taken on credit and the payment comes later so by that while you’re waiting to be paid you have nothing to eat,” he said.

Christine Atimongo another girl who was employed by Sunset guest house prayed that their employers take them back after the Covid-19-related lockdown is lifted.

“I am only praying that when the country is re-opened, our bosses will allow us to continue with our work,” she said.

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Covid-19: Tooro dairy cooperative donates milk to Kabarole children’s homes

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Tooro Dairy Cooperative Society Limited has donated 420 litres of pasteurised milk to the four homes caring for vulnerable children in Kabarole district.

The cooperative’s support was part of its relief efforts towards the vulnerable during the current Covid-19 related lockdown.

Kabarole hosts four homes for vulnerable children, including the only remand home in western Uganda.

The homes which received relief were Tooro babies home which cares for abandoned children, Fort Portal remand home which cares for the juveniles on remand, Maana rescue home which cares for children living with HIV/AIDS and SOS children’s village which looks after orphans.

The Board Chairman, Tooro Dairy Cooperative Society, Edward Basaliza said that each home received 100 litres of milk except for Fort Portal remand home which received 120 litres because it has many children.

Basaliza said the cooperative chose to donate milk due to its nutritive value for children.

“In this period of Covid-19, everyone has been affected- especially the vulnerable children. These children need a lot while growing up, and they need to be fed very well because their immunity is always very weak,” he said.

He added that, the outreach was one way for the cooperative to “give back to the community” during the pandemic. Robert Bahenyangyi, the Director SOS children’s village Fort Portal, said the village, which looks after 60 orphans, is facing many challenges during the lockdown, especially since donations have dwindled.

“Feeding these children especially during this period is not easy. Donations like these give us some breathing space because everything is now at a standstill,” Bahenyangyi said.

Fort portal remand home, the only one of its kind in Uganda’s western region, is overwhelmed by the number of children now at the shelter, a problem they attribute to the closure of courts as a measure to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

The remand home’s assistant Probation Welfare Officer, Resty Basemera, said it has a capacity of 45 children, but the number has shot up to 103 children currently, and they cannot discharge any of them at the moment.

As such, the home is struggling to feed the children and often relies on community donations in addition to government support.

“We have been depending on the community to feed these children, but many have stopped coming because of Covid-19. We therefore thank Tooro dairy cooperative for the support rendered to us,” Basemera said.

The situation is not any different at Tooro Babies home, whose focus is on providing for abandoned children.

Kemigisa Betty the Matron at Tooro babies home said the home has 50 children. Of these, 15 take powdered milk and all use pampers which are expensive.

They are also struggling to make ends meet after community members, on whom they depend, stopped coming after the lock down began.

Maana Rescue home one of those that received milk from Tooro dairy cooperative cares for 30 children living with HIV/AIDS.

According Richard Rwabuhinga, the Kabarole district Chairperson, government focused much on providing relief to hand-to-mouth earners, but the district is awaiting direction on how to handle emerging cases such as those of children’s homes.

Last week, the Bishop of Fort Portal diocese, Robert Muhirwa, also donated food and non-food relief items to Tooro babies and Fort Portal remand homes including pampers, eggs and bananas and called upon all community members to think of these vulnerable children.

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Gulu egg sales drop due to COVID-19 measures

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Suppliers of eggs in Gulu district are recording a downturn in eggs sales due to the economic slowdown resulting from the national lockdown instituted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economic slump has also seen the price of eggs reduce by at least Shs. 1000 per tray.

Quantum Foods Uganda that has a poultry farm in Masindi Port supplies eggs in Gulu, Bweyale, Lira, Arua and Kitgum districts. However, the company’s management told theCooperator that they have been forced to reduce the price of eggs per tray since the lockdown started.

Allen Ozibwe, area Manager Quantum Foods, Gulu Branch, said their main buyers such as hotels, bakeries, retailers and rolex makers have either closed or drastically reduced the volumes of their orders.

“Before the lockdown, we would sell 200 trays a day, but now we only sell about 100 trays,” she said, adding that this has forced them to reduce the price of each tray from Shs 11,500 to Shs 10.000.
At the company’s store in Gulu, trays of eggs were stacked atop each other with not a single buyer in sight, because the ban on public transportation means that even those who might have come to buy the eggs for resale cannot make it.

“Additionally, restaurants, rolex makers and bakeries, who were our main buyers have reduced on their quantity while others have stopped buying,” Ozibwe said.
She said other business people who used to buy more than ten trays for resale are now just trickling in, while the rolex makers, who used to buy the broken eggs for their business have also greatly reduced, because many of their clients are at home, and the curfew starts at the time when their business is at the peak (7pm).

Isaac Opiyo, a rolex maker in Layibi center, said he used to buy two trays of eggs daily for his rolex-making, but now it takes him three days to use up one tray.

Opiyo explained that this is because most of his clients are now home, and he opens his stall from 11 am till 6pm only.

“In the past, I used to open at 7 am and close midnight,” he said.

Other heavy buyers of eggs, like the bakeries, have also reduced the quantity they buy, because very few of their clients, if any, are ordering for cakes and other confectionaries that require eggs as one of their main ingredients.

Jennifer Anena, a Bakery Accountant at Pawat Northern Bakery in Gulu Town, said before the lockdown, the bakery routinely stocked a minimum of five trays of eggs per week for making cakes and other confectioneries. Now, they only buy three trays, which hardly get used.

Anena attributed this to the decline in orders for cakes that resulted from the lockdown which also dictated against huge gatherings such as birthdays and weddings.

“On ordinary days before the lockdown, we could get a minimum of four cake orders a week. And on public holidays like Easter, we could get a minimum of ten orders, but this Easter, we got only one order,” she explained.

George Odong, a wholesaler of eggs in Gulu Bus Park said he stocked 50 trays per week before the lockdown, which would be sold out in three days.

“The crisis found me with new stock, which took two weeks to sell,” he said.

As a result, he has had to take a drastic step:

“I have put the egg business on hold for now,” Odong revealed.
Production of eggs in Uganda grew to 930 million in 2018, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).
However, poultry farmers and dealers in eggs are worried that if the COVID-19 shutdown continues much longer, sales will drop even further, causing losses to thousands in the sector across the country.

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North Bukedi Cooperative Union contributes Shs 5 million towards COVID-19 fight

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As the Ministry of Health grapples to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Uganda, North Bukedi Cooperative Union [NBCU] has contributed Shs 5 million towards efforts to combat the pandemic.

The contribution is geared towards supporting efforts of the COVID-19 task forces in the districts of Pallisa, Budaka, Butebo and Kibuku.

NBCU chairman, Farouk Gundi justified the Union’s donation, saying: “People’s wellbeing and that of the farmer’s Union are interdependent. As such our humble contribution is the ultimate expression of our social responsibility.”

The Shs 5m donation was spread out among the four districts, with Pallisa receiving Shs 1.5 million, Budaka Shs 1.5million, Kibuku Shs 1million while Butebo got Shs 1million.

Gundi specifies that the contribution was specifically directed at providing fuel logistics for the district taskforce.

“Most of the districts were facing a huge challenge of fuel and could not easily move to various areas to carry out community awareness and also respond to suspected cases,” he explained.

Pallisa Resident District Commissioner (RDC) and Chairperson of the district task force, Ssenyonjo Kyeyune, while receiving the donation on behalf of Pallisa, pledged that contributions would be put to proper use and accountability provided.

“The task force will be transparent about any funds received; they have already informed the National COVID-19 task force in order to get guidelines,” he said.

He thanked the NBCU for coming to their rescue in providing fuel facilitation.

Budaka district RDC Martin Orochi received the money on behalf of the district task force; LC5 Chairman, Charles Kadyama for Kibuku district and Butebo RDC Fatuma Ndifuna for Butebo district.

“The district task force assures that any support received will be used to improve service delivery,” Ndifuna said.

As of today, Uganda has registered 61 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

About NBCU

North Bukedi Cooperative Union is one of the oldest surviving Unions in the country, comprising 75 primary societies across the four districts of Pallisa, Budaka, Butebo and Kibuku.

The Union recently received Shs 2.4bn from the government as part payment out of a total Shs 11.4 bn owed to it in damages for the destruction of its properties during the Liberation War, including several ginneries and other assets.

NBCU Chairperson, Gundi, was grateful to the government for honouring the Union’s war claims which, he says, has enabled them to clear off longstanding debts that were choking the farmers union.

Regarding the NBCU’s current focus, Gundi said:

“The Union is carrying out massive strategies to revive cooperatives societies so that they can re-position themselves as collective centres for the members.”

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COVID-19: Western Uganda cooperatives postpone AGMs over pandemic

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Several cooperatives in western Uganda have been forced to postpone their scheduled Annual General Meetings (AGMs) as the social and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to mount.

All cooperatives are required by law to hold an Annual General Meeting once a year and in any case not later than 3 months after the close of the co-operative’s financial year. In line with this requirement, several SACCOs whose financial years ended in December 2019 had AGMs scheduled for March this year.

However, in the wake of anti-COVID-19 ‘social distancing’ measures limiting gatherings to a maximum of five participants, several SACCOs in western Uganda have been forced to cancel and postpone their scheduled AGMs.

According to the Rwampara District Commercial Officer, Amon Mutabarura, out of 23 cooperatives with AGMs scheduled within the first quarter of this year, only three had successfully completed the exercise before the ban on large gatherings was instituted. The rest were cancelled after the presidential directive.

“We should have had many AGMs by now, but with this Coronavirus pandemic, most of them were postponed,” Mutabarura said.

Some Rwampara cooperatives whose 2019 AGMs had to be cancelled are: Rwampara Dairy Farmers SACCO Ltd, Teachers Yendezana SACCO Ltd, Rubingo Farmers SACCO Ltd, Rugando People’s SACCO Ltd, Mwizi Coffee farmers SACCO Ltd, Kinoni SACCO Ltd, Mwizi SACCO Ltd, Rwampara Farmers and Traders SACCO Ltd, Bugamba United SACCO Ltd, and Rugando FRONASA and Veterans SACCO Ltd, among others.

Nevertheless, Mutabarura pledged that all cooperatives in Rwampara district would hold their AGMs after the novel Coronavirus pandemic has been defeated.

“It is not yet too late to hold the AGMs. As soon as the country is declared free of the Coronavirus, we shall be able to resume our normal businesses and begin from where we had stopped,” he pledged.

Meanwhile in Bushenyi district, Butuuro SACCO was compelled to postpone its AGM which had been scheduled for March 21, 2020. According to Pison Mugizi, the SACCO’s patron, the decision to postpone was taken in compliance with the presidential directive suspending all public meetings.

He says suspension of the AGM cost the SACCO a lot of money because they had already paid for the venue and incurred costs related to publicising the planned meeting.

“We had already sent out messages to members and placed public announcements on local radios. We had also hired the meeting venue which was supposed to be College View Guest House in Bushenyi,” Mugizi said.

However, he said the SACCO’s management was in touch with members and would prepare for the AGM once the situation normalises.

Equally affected was Mbarara district’s Ankole Diocese Millennium SACCO whose AGM was slated for March 24, 2020, according to its patron, Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Sheldon Frederick Mwesigwa.

“Our AGM was supposed to take place on March 24, 2020, but due to COVID-19, it was suspended until further notice. Let’s pray for God’s intervention such that our country Uganda stabilizes and everything resumes normally,” said Mwesigwa.

Early birds

However, some cooperatives reported completing their AGMs earlier in the year and were thus unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Justus Bathishida, the General Manager Nyarubanga SACCO in Mbarara Municipality, said that they had held their AGM before the suspension on meetings was declared.

“Luckily for us, we had held our 2019 Annual General Meeting on March 3, 2020, about two weeks before the presidential directives suspending public meetings,” Bathishida said.

Other cooperatives that held their AGMs before the suspension include Kakoba-Mbarara SACCO, a prominent financial cooperative in western Uganda that has been operating for 10 years and runs a Shs 1.3 billion budget.

“We held the 2019 pre-AGM in January, 2020 and the AGM on February 23, 2020 and everything was concluded,” explained the SACCO’s Manager, Sajabi Edmond.

In Rwampara district, the early birds include Keikara Rugando SACCO Ltd, Rwampara Farmers and Traders Development SACCO Ltd and Bugamba Peoples SACCO Ltd which had completed their AGMs prior to the lockdown.

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