Joshua Nahamya,
Rwampara.
Conflicts mute Bugamba People’s SACCO in Rwampara as members reject new leadership elections since March 2021.
This all started on 14th April 2021 when the said financial institution located in Rweibogo-Kabingo town council was supposed to hold their long-awaited Annual General Meeting which was earlier postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Permission was granted by the registrar’s office and members converged on the reported date but members insisted not to elect another leadership into power.
According to Centenary Bamwine, a concerned member in the SACCO told this website that the board members sparked off chaos in the AGM blocking elections from taking place.
He says members were against Alfred Ainembabazi, the board chairman for causing a financial loss to the SACCO totaling to 89.7million during the financial year 2019/2020.
“Despite presenting all the credentials, members were no longer receiving loans and to unknown reasons I heard that the chairman was suspended so he had rejoined the office recently,” says Bamwine
He adds that the chairman was suspended for some months before calling him back to office on investigations regarding what transpired in office mismanagement.
“Previously the chairman was suspended over unknown reasons it’s now a week that he has come from the suspension but still demands to retain the chairmanship sit. We ask why the chairman and the manager insist it’s them to be our leaders of the SACCO. This automatically means that something fishy is taking place which they don’t want us to establish” says Bamwine
The same audit report ascertained that the flying leadership caused a profit of 24million which left members doubting the internal auditors.
“How can you make a financial loss of over an 89million and at the same time the audit report reflects that you made dividends totaling to 24million? Bamwine asked
He says it’s a growing practice by leaders conniving with auditors to give false audit reports to the SACCO members.
“Auditors keep on giving wrong information to the members like what happened to Rugando SACCO where auditors would come and report that they made a total of dividends when actually they were making losses until it collapsed which we don’t want to happened here at Bugamba SACCO” Bamwine charged
On 14th April, members boycotted the voting and only discussed other issues about Bugamba SACCO postponing the voting to 29th April 2021.
Amon Mutabarura, the commercial officer Rwampara advised the standing candidates for the chairmanship to appeal to the vetting committee within 14 days such that their issues can be harmonized before voting on 29th April 2021.
“Before 29th, the vetting committee and commercial officer sat and found out there is a lot of politicking within the SACCO where two factions were pulling a rope to take on the leadership which was impossible and the vetting committee disqualified the two contestants for the chairmanship seat calling other members to apply,” says Bamwine
He reported that when the agreed date reached members insisted not to vote until an explanation would be given concerning the missing SACCO funds.
“We started seeing new members being recruited and pass books awarded then we realized something fishy was going and Matters could not be solved but forwarded to the registrar in charge of cooperatives for further guidance,” Bamwine said
The sitting leadership also bordered last week to Kampala to meet the registrar who confirmed in the meeting that the voting date is slated for 20th May 2021.
We called the old leadership to clear the allegations but the chairman was not picking all our calls and we instead contacted the registrar who confirmed that voting must take place on 20 May 2020 as agreed in the meeting.
However, Bamwine insists that they are also petitioning the registrar challenging the former leadership before voting should take place on that day. He says harmony needs to be restored for the betterment of Bugamba People’s SACCO Ltd.
“Whoever has Bugamba SACCO at heart should get politics out of this financial institution I had a lot to do for the people of Bugamba SACCO because we had most of our members quitting the SACCO but I am now ready to step aside,” says Bamwine
So our head is still up waiting to report what awaits for Bugamba Peoples’ SACCO which has about 1780 members within its main branch located at Rweibogo town council and its branch that has 381 members in Nyabikurungu Rugando Rwampara district.
