Residents in Kampala district are thrilled at the prospect of finally putting poverty in their history following the launch of the emyooga program on Wednesday.
The excitement was evident in the speeches delivered by different leaders from across the political aisle, at the launch in Nakawa Division on Wednesday, an event officiated by State Minister for Microfinance, Haruna Kasolo.
Emyooga is a word derived from a local Ugandan dialect (Runyankole) to refer to specialized skills enterprises/groups. It is a presidential initiative aimed at wealth and job creation.
It was launched by H.E the President of Uganda in August 2019 as part of Government’s continuous strategies to transform 68% of Ugandan homesteads from subsistence to market-oriented production.
“The people in Kampala dont have businesses because of lack of capital. The Emyooga is coming to solve this problem,” Kasolo said.
It targets Ugandans from 18 clusters including Boda boda riders, taxi drivers, restaurants, welders, market vendors, women entrepreneurs, youth leaders, people with disabilities, journalists, performing artists, veterans, fishermen, and elected leaders who form saccos and each gets shs30 million as seed capital.
Kasolo had earlier in the day met with KCCA leaders at City Hall where he debriefed them about the launch and the nitty gritty of the program.
“Let’s forget our political differences. Parties come and go but Ugandans and her citizens remain,” Kasolo said as he urged leaders to unite in order to uplift the livelihoods of ordinary Ugandans.
The SACCOs for each category will be organized at constituency level with operations at the parish level through established parish associations.
All economically active Ugandans aged 18 and above can benefit from this initiative. However, members under the youth category should not exceed 35 years of age.
The identification of individuals subscribing to a given category or enterprise will be done at the village level with support from the LC 1 leadership.
First ensure that you are engaged in one of the 18 enterprises targeted in this program. Then contact your LC1 leader for subscription to a Parish level association in line with your area of specialization. Ensure that the group you are subscribed to is registered by the District Community Development Officer.
Each parish association should have 7-30 members enlisted for a particular specialized enterprise. Should the number exceed 30, another group of the same specialized enterprise shall be formed. For example, if Kakoba Ward Bodaboda Association has 90 members, it will be split into three groups of 30 members each and named Kakoba Ward Bodaboda Association A, B and C.
Each member of a group will pay membership and subscription fees as agreed upon by the group. Both membership and annual subscription fees payable by each parish association to the constituency SACCO shall not exceed Ush.20,000/-.
The Emyooga initiative is financed by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development through the Department of Microfinance. The Microfinance Support Centre Ltd (MSC) is responsible for the planning, management, budgeting, reporting and accountability of all funds disbursed for the program.
This includes funds disbursements to the groups and training of members and leaders. The District Task Forces headed by the Resident District Commissioners (RDCS) and comprised of District Commercial Officers (DCOs), District Community Development Officers (DCDOs), Local Council V Chairpersons (LCV) and District NRM Chairpersons (DNRMC), are charged with mobilizing communities to participate in the program.