Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has instructed the House Committee on Finance scrutinizing the Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to ensure inclusion of laws that protect members of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOS).
The Speaker gave the directive during the plenary sitting on Thursday, 01 December 2022.
She said that SACCOs help to ensure financial inclusion among communities in terms of programs like Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“SACCOs are not regulated by Bank of Uganda. The Institution only regularities tier one, two and three financial institutions, and not tier four where SACCOs belong,” Among said.
She added that it is key for the new law to have inclusions for SAACOs so that they are passed by the House.
The Speaker alluded to the first annual Microfinance and Savings Group Conference which she officiated at while highlighting the key role played by SACCOs in Uganda.
The Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was tabled before Parliament on Tuesday, 22 November 2022. It allows microfinance deposit-taking institutions to offer services related to Islamic banking, agent banking and bank assurance, among others.
According to the Uganda Cooperative Savings and Credit Union Limited, there are 1,368 registered SACCOs.
The newly introduced Parish Development Model has required communities that intend to benefit from the funds to subscribe to SACCOs.
