Africa-Press – Uganda. Emyooga Sacco leaders in Pakwach District received mentorship from top-performing model Saccos across Uganda in a strategic exchange visit aimed at strengthening governance, boosting accountability, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
The knowledge-sharing session allowed struggling Sacco leaders in Pakwach to voice challenges they face in managing their Saccos and members.
In response, leaders from well-performing Saccos referred to as “Missionaries” offered practical guidance on improving governance, mobilizing member participation, and attracting more government support.
Susan Rose, Chairperson of Serere County Tailors’ Emyooga SACCO, delivered a presentation on the principles of good governance, emphasizing that these are foundational to SACCO growth.
“For the SACCO to grow, there has to be a conducive platform for every member to be part of the decision-making process,” she said.
“All members have a voice in decision making. We see transparency and accountability as one of the principles. And here all processes, decisions, and relevant information shall be transparent and accountable all to the supervisors and members,” she noted.
She stressed that SACCO activities should be inclusive and not limited to a few individuals in leadership positions.
“The members must participate in all activities in the Sacco, as the owners of the Sacco not only leaders, not only the members but all the registered members have to participate,” she said.
Susan also highlighted the importance of integrity and ethical behavior, urging Sacco leaders to maintain high standards in conduct to foster unity and innovation.
“Members, the staff, and the leaders all must behave well and have a good conduct and togetherness within the Sacco,” she added.
During the session, the chairperson of the Pakwach Youths Emyooga Sacco raised concerns about non-compliant members who take loans and disappear, leaving recovery to the Sacco leadership.
In response, Dixon Wasswa, Chairperson of Mbarara Taxi Operators Emyooga Sacco, advised that compliance must start with the leaders.
“We as leaders and members must respect the rules and regulations that are in our Sacco. That will show good governance,” he said.
Sylvia Nafuna, Secretary of Northern City Division Constituency Produce Dealers Emyooga Sacco, encouraged Sacco to invest in ventures that meet the local market demand.
She emphasized the importance of identifying viable business opportunities to reduce dependency on government funds.
“Venture into businesses that are appealing to the society,” she urged.
Participants also questioned why Saccos had money in their accounts but could not access it. Dan Mwesigwa from the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) clarified that many Saccos in the region were operating with expired certificates.
“The performance of Emyooga Saccos is very key in the implementation of the program. We cannot perform with expired certificates. I listened to your expectations, and one of them was that you have money on your Sacco accounts which you are not accessing, but most of you have expired certificates. So we have to work towards organizing audits, AGMs, and be able to access money,” he explained.
Mwesigwa echoed the importance of expanding membership as a means of Sacco growth.
“We can only grow when there is growth in membership. Bring a member behind you to join the Sacco. Each member comes with a saving, comes with shares they can borrow, and then our Saccos will grow,” he noted.
He encouraged all leaders to take the guidance from the mentorship session seriously and use it as a foundation for development.
Robert Omito, LC5 Chairperson of Pakwach District, applauded MSC and President Museveni for supporting the peer-to-peer initiative.
He acknowledged that the presence of model Sacco leaders had opened the eyes of many local leaders.
“The problem with people here is that they thought the money was for them to eat due to the time in which it was disbursed. And the most money was eaten by a few individuals. So now almost every Sacco’s problem is defaulters, which has locked the chances of accessing additional seed capital which was already disbursed by government,” he said.
Saidi Subrah, Assistant RDC Pakwach, commended MSC for the peer learning initiative, describing it as a crucial step in bridging the knowledge gap and boosting SACCO performance.
She also condemned loan defaulters in Pakwach and urged them to repay funds so others could benefit.
“Be fair to the money received from MSC and return it such that others can also get an opportunity to use the same money,” she said.
Emyooga beneficiaries from across Uganda shared their success stories to inspire SACCO leaders in the West Nile region.
According to Ronald Waiswa, the Arua Zonal Manager, peer learning is essential for improving SACCO governance, member participation, and overall impact.
During the training sessions, the beneficiaries emphasized the importance of mindset change, good governance, financial literacy, proper enterprise selection, resource mobilization, as well as accurate record-keeping and bookkeeping.
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