MBARARA – Mbarara district have started a crackdown on defaulters of Emyooga funds.
According to Adamu Bwisho, the district commercial officer, in the last two weeks, 20 individuals were apprehended and compelled to return more than 10 million Ugandan shillings they obtained through the government’s Emyooga program aimed at enhancing the lives of Ugandans.
Bwisho notes that the majority of Emyooga Sacco members have strongly resisted repayment, arguing that the funds were a token of presidential gratitude. However, he mentions that the district has made efforts to educate beneficiaries to shift their perspective and understand that the funds are meant to be reinvested.
Government in 2019 gave savings groups seed capital of shilling 30 million each with the view of alleviating poverty.
The 18 categories of people that the government targeted included tailors, performing artists,market vendors,boda boda riders, carpenters and journalists.
Bwisho says that they have managed to recover about 300 Million shillings out of the over 1.42 billion that were disbursed to the district, he, however, says they have initiated mechanisms to recover more.
Among the mechanism, he says they are teaming up with officials from the Microfinance support center and the district security committee to do monitoring and sensitization but also arrest the defaulters.
The district hosts 36 Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs), distributed across two constituencies: Kashari South and Kashari North.
The DCO cautioned that Emyooga funds are not free monies from government but rather a revolving fund that should be paid in order to benefit all the members of a particular Sacco.
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