By Brian Atuhura

The Minister of State for Cooperatives,Hon.Tom Aza Alero,has called for stronger and well-organised cooperatives and Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations(SACCOs)to promote wealth creation,expand markets and improve household incomes across the Bunyoro Sub-Region.

Alero,who serves under the Ministry of Trade,Industry and Cooperatives,made the call while addressing district leaders and leaders of Emyooga and the Parish Development Model(PDM)during a meeting held at the Masindi District headquarters.

The meeting formed part of his field visits in Bunyoro,aimed at raising awareness about the role of cooperatives and SACCOs in strengthening the economy and improving the livelihoods of communities.

The Minister said cooperatives can achieve greater impact when business people and producers organise themselves,speak with a united voice and work together to access wider markets for their products.

He noted that organised groups are better positioned to negotiate for favourable markets and earn better returns from their produce,thereby improving the incomes of their members.

Alero observed that cooperatives play an important in the government's efforts to move communities towards a money economy and reduce poverty.

He cited government programmes such as Emyooga,the Parish Development Model,the Youth Capital Venture Fund and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme(UWEP),saying they are designed to encourage people to work in groups and improve their livelihoods.

The Minister urged communities to make effective use of these initiatives by embracing collective action,production and enterprise development.

Masindi District Chairperson,Patrick Wobusobozi,welcomed the Minister's visit,saying it could renew hope among cooperatives in Bunyoro and strengthen their contribution to local and national development.

Wobusobozi pointed to the Bunyoro Growers Union,which he said was influential in previous years through employment creation and it's contribution to the country's economy.He expressed hope that renewed attention to cooperatives would help revive such organisations and unlock opportunities for communities.

Presenting a summary of the Parish Development Model's performance in Masindi,the District Commercial Officer,Moses Kalyegira,reported that the district had received shs 18.7 billion for the programme since its inception.

Of this amount,shs 16.2 billion had been disbursed to beneficiaries,while shs 2.5 billion remained undistributed.

The report showed that women had received shs 5.8 billion,representing 36 per cent of the funds disbursed.Youth had received shs 5.1 billion,equivalent to 32 per cent,persons with disabilities had received shs 973.4 million,representing six percent and older persons had received shs 1.2 billion,equivalent to eight per cent.Other beneficiaries received shs 2.8 billion,representing 18 per cent.

Kalyegira also reported that shs 15.4 million had been recovered through 14 PDM SACCOs,against a reported recovery target of shs 7.2 billion.He explained that SACCOs receive PDM funds in phases.

On Emyooga,Kalyegira said the programme had an initial seed capital of shs 1.1 billion,with an additional shs 240 million provided to support well-performing Emyooga SACCOs.

He reported that shs 1.6 billion had been disbursed to members,of which shs 382.7 million had been recovered.The SACCOs had accumulated savings of shs 591.6 million and share capital of shs 6.7 million.

Deputy Mayor of Masindi Municipality,Aisha Nakamya,encouraged residents to embrace cooperatives and SACCOs as a way of improving household livelihoods and extending development benefits to more communities.

She urged cooperative members to cultivate a mindset focused on increasing household income through collective effort and productive activities.

Representing the Chief Administrative Officer,the Principal Assistant Chief Administrative Officer,Musa Kyamiza,emphasised the importance of prioritising production,saying cooperatives and SACCOs would perform better when members engage in productive economic activities.