President Museveni has said the NRM government will continue supporting cooperatives around the country.
Speaking during the Cooperatives Day at Misanvu Church of Uganda Primary School grounds in Kibinge subcounty, Bukomansimbi district, the president who was represented by third Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakadama, reiterated the NRM government's commitment to bolstering cooperative enterprises nationwide.
He also highlighted the remarkable growth of cooperatives in Uganda, from 5,521 in 1986 to 45,283 as of April 2024.
The president reaffirmed government's strategic alignment with wealth creation initiatives such as Operation Wealth Creation and the Parish Development Model, underscoring a supportive legislative framework to foster cooperative growth.
The Minister of State for Cooperatives Fredrick Gume Ngobi urged farmers to enhance crop value addition to counteract exploitative middlemen, emphasizing access to markets facilitated by initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area.
"If you add value, you will also be able to exploit the market opportunities such as East Africa community African continental free trade area among others. Now like the coffee, which is being exported, it is also earning a lot of money to people in increasing our economic days," he said.
The event also saw appeals for the restoration of a cooperative bank to better manage cooperative funds and calls for elevated educational standards at cooperative schools to nurture professionalism among Ugandans.
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"Cooperators countrywide you anonymously passed the resolutions that they want back their cooperative bank and on that note, cooperators countrywide resolve that they are ready to put in their money because they have the capacity now,'" said Jonathan Tweyambe, the chairperson of Uganda cooperative alliance.
Bukomansimbi South MP Geoffrey Kayemba Ssolo urged government to redirect funds from programs like Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM) towards cooperatives to maximize benefit for Ugandans.
Amidst the festivities, concerns surfaced regarding the participation of Bukomansimbi district cooperatives.
Allen Meeme, representing the district chairperson, expressed disappointment over what she perceived as inadequate notification efforts by Kibinge Coffee Cooperative Society, the primary organizers.
"When I moved on all stalls I have seen only one cooperative from Bukomansimbi though we have many cooperatives in Bukomansimbi even those with Emyooga but all are not here .I am wondering whether Kibinge coffee cooperative society wanted to be alone on this function," Meeme noted.
In response, Sowedi Sserwadda, chairperson of Kibinge Coffee Cooperative Society, defended their outreach efforts, citing direct invitations and digital notifications via platforms like WhatsApp.
"We took invitation to whoever the concerned people. Here we have people from Kasaali, Gulu, Bugishu, and you want to tell us that people from Bukomansimbi didn't know about the function! I took these latter's myself and some were invited via Whatsapp."
The state Minister for Microfinance Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo weighed in, critiquing Meeme's remarks and urging Bukomansimbi residents to embrace cooperatives as a pivotal tool in poverty eradication.
