OPINION- Last week President Yoweri Museveni lauded Speaker Anita Among for being an active, developmental and innovative leader.
Museveni said this while officially opening Bukedea Teaching Hospital that was constructed by Speaker Among, with the intent to provide quality and affordable healthcare for the people of Teso and neighboring districts.
Museveni said that Among is not only innovative but a good listener. He commended her for investing in what he termed as an imaginative project.
The President saluted Speaker Anita and said her projects of a hospital and a medical school had changed that particular place and Teso region at large.
During the launch it was also said that President Museveni had given financial support to Speaker Anita to supplement on her funds to make the projects successful.
The financial support donated by the President to Speaker Anita was definitely a big push to her project. We salute Speaker Anita for innovativeness and great business acumen and wish her well in her business and political endeavors. But the support which she got from the President ignites a debate on some proposal and a petition made by one Afande Moses Mugisha Magufuri which he shared to Speaker Anita around March last year asking for the establishment of an agricultural cooperative bank.
The Speaker due to her very busy schedule or for some reason has never responded to Afande Moses Mugisha Magufuri’s petition to establish an agricultural cooperative bank according to sources.
It must also be noted that we know for a fact that Speaker Anita means well for Ugandan farmers and locals who need money or capital to move their business and agricultural enterprises but lack capital to roll these perusable projects like the one of Speaker Anita but unfortunately many of them cannot access the President to receive such a great boost of free capital or funds borrowed with relaxed terms as compared to those from foreign and commercial banks.
Our sources have also indicated that the same copy of Afande Moses Mugisha Magufuri’s petition of establishing an agricultural cooperative bank was also shared to the office of the President.
Why then has it taken so long to have such a proposal looked into by the government which knows very well that millions of farmers and agricultural related businessmen need capital to work and fight poverty and move the economy? That remains food for thought for many of our leaders and especially those that mean well for millions of poor Ugandans.
Background of Speaker Anita’s projects commissioned by the President
In 2017, President Museveni laid a foundation stone for the construction of the hospital, having offered land for the same. The land initially belonged to Bukedea District Local Government and had remained undeveloped.
Since then, construction has been ongoing until January 2024 when the hospital started operations.
Bukedea Teaching Hospital has so far handled more than 2,000 patients.
Why is Afande Moses Mugisha Magufuri mooting for an agricultural cooperative bank?
According to our source, it’s believed that General Saleh’s blue eyed boy- Afande Magufuri had secured sh. 372 billion for the establishment of an Agricultural and cooperative bank but he is still waiting for His Excellency the President’s response on the matter.
According to sources, Afande Magufuri and some concerned Ugandans are shocked that several businesses of local entrepreneurs are collapsing due to strenuous loans secured from commercial and foreign owned banks. The situation was made worse by the Covid;19 and the lockdown.
Sources close to Afande Magufuri believe that an Agricultural and cooperative bank would be a source of good loans for farmers and local business people who are doing agricultural related business that support processing and semi processing of agricultural products to add value to them hence stimulating the growth of the agriculture sector, trade and foreign exchange if these products are exported.
Afande Magufuri’s view to have the Agricultural and commercial bank continues to reflect at local institutions like Wazalendo, NSSF funds and other Sacco’s account that are lying in private banks like stanbic, Cairo international and Post bank which commercial banks are run by foreign investors (repatriators) is a miss chief to the voters.
According to sources close to him, why would the NRM government allow commercial banks to exploit wanaichi (local people) which he thinks is not the way of securing the future of Ugandans.
The source said that Afande Magufuri’s and his research according to the world bank research, it was established that one of the reasons why Africa has been hindered from succeeding economically is limited capital for the agricultural sector development.
It is believed that if Uganda access capital and are sensitized on business, Ugandan with its good weather can become a food basket for most of East Africa.
A source said “Ugandans must wake up to the harsh economic reality, accessing long term agricultural funding in this country is close to impossible, the commercial banks here don’t trust Ugandan farmers due to lack of collateral.
And yet government continues to dump money in all schemes with minimum impact poverty as some of our youths move to Middle East in syndicated slavery which has become a death trap”
Creating an agricultural cooperative bank will provide affordable financing and create opportunities for many young people among others who are hindered by minimum capital requirements to secure a loan from a commercial bank.
Sources say that Afande Magufuri believes that to start an agricultural cooperative bank in Uganda is not a problem; but there must be political good will.
What is the role of Parliament on this proposal?
Parliament is expected to table and debate the matter but why is it paying a deaf eye on Afande Magufuri’s proposal who believes he can champion this cause to help poor Ugandans and the government to grow the economy.
Will Parliament keep a deaf eye on this proposal?
