The Ugandan Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC) has said around 40% of the country’s registered co-operatives are inactive.
Uganda has more than 46,000 registered co-operative societies, many of which are based in agriculture and farming. But the ministry has revealed that thousands are now inactive, with many failing to meet audit requirements to access government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga.
According to Monitor magazine, the MTIC blames the situation on “weak leadership, poor accountability, low member awareness, financial mismanagement and inadequate supervision”.
Khadija Nakakande, a senior comms officer for MTIC, said: “We have discovered that some co-operatives remain only on paper, while others were started by individuals who later disappeared with members’ savings…
“Some join without knowing their roles or when meetings are held. They do not ask for accountability because they are ignorant of the bylaws.”
Related: Ugandan parliament looking into alleged corruption affecting co-op sector
However, the ministry is taking action to support existing co-ops and the formation of new ones. Robert Waiswa Mpakibi, assistant commissioner for co-operatives, said: “We are in the process of reviving strong co-operatives such as Busoga Growers. The good thing is that the members are still there, and most of the stores and land still exist.”
The government is working to recover “grabbed co-operative assets” and restructure leadership, he added. “We shall update the membership lists and put leadership at every primary co-operative and at the union level so that we protect these institutions.”
To this end, the Ugandan government is launching a ‘co-operative clinic’ to revive inactive co-ops and improve governance.
“We have organised the first co-operative clinic in Busoga. We started in the Western region,” said Nakakande, “and now we are in Eastern Uganda. The programme will be rolled out nationwide as a continuous effort to revive inactive societies and educate members.”
The Uganda co-operative sector dates back to 1913, with co-operatives becoming essential to the rural economy by the 1960s.
