The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. David Muhoozi has encouraged members Wazalendo Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited (WSACCO) to invest in assets that generate income as opposed to buying luxurious items that provide short time benefits.
Speaking at Uganda Military Engineering College (UMEC) in Lugazi, Gen. Muhoozi said there was a need to come up with smart innovations to build strong consensus with members, understand the critical importance of the SACCO and design simple and clear messages to all members for WSACCO to do better.
He called for investing in businesses that will in turn generate profits than in luxurious life. “WSACCO is like a teenager that has performed exceptionally well before becoming an adult,” he said.
“We have done well and we should maintain and improve the welfare of our members,” Gen. Muhoozi told members, adding that it is the duty of the leadership to maintain the sound relationship with WSACCO to provide reliable solutions that can fight poverty.
He said there must be trust between the leadership and members to have a SACCO that can transform the lives of its members and not just accumulation of figures.
Gen Muhoozi advised WSACCO Board, Supervisory Committee (SUPCO) and Management to work together so as to realize the objectives of the WSACCO.
WSACCO Board Chairman and Deputy Commander Land Forces, Maj. Gen. Sam Kavuma, the SACCO provides an opportunity for the UPDF fraternity to come together and accumulate a fund that will better their welfare and prepare them for life after retirement.
Maj. Gen. Kavuma said, the society’s asset base stood at Shs271.1 billion against Shs219.1 billion in the last financial year and mainly attributed this growth to the rolled-out re-financing that enabled members to access more loans on top of their existing loans.
He encouraged members to continue saving tirelessly by revisiting their enterprise selection and investing in real assets that generate income to fill the liquidity shortfall.
Invest in assets that generate income- CDF Gen David Muhoozi
The Chief Executive Officer of WSACCO Brig Simon Ocan said WSACCO registered numerous achievements despite the existing challenges like failure on delivery of new ATM cards, poor service delivery on the OTC platform by Post Bank Uganda and the halt on WazaMobile services by M/S Neptune and MTN in mid-December 2018.
He, however called upon the UPDF leadership, Board, Management team and elected delegates to emphasize mobilization and sensitization of SACCO members especially in areas of accumulating savings, financial literacy and investment.
Members adopted and approved the proposal to issue bonuses to shareholders by appreciating the share value from Shs10,000 to Shs15,000, extending the maximum loan period from 4 to five years, increasing the loan size from Shs40 million to Shs80 million, among others.