Uganda government unveils committee to establish Cooperative Bank

The Government of Uganda has unveiled a steering committee for the establishment of the National Cooperative Bank.

The seven-member committee is made up of, among others, members from the Uganda Central Cooperative Financial Services, Uganda Cooperative and Savings Union, Walimu, Wazalendo, and Parliamentary SACCOs.

The committee will be chaired by the Uganda Cooperative Alliance and is charged with developing a comprehensive roadmap for the formation of the bank.

Speaking at the launch at Farmers House in Kampala on Tuesday, State Minister for Cooperatives Fredrick Ngobi Gume said the committee is expected to report to the minister on the way forward within three months.

He cautioned the committee and all those involved in the process to ensure that the role of the Cooperative Bank is well explained to avoid misinterpretation of its objectives.

This, according to him, calls for cooperation between the committee and the Saccos, which are virtually growing into defacto banks in some places and they continue to succeed.

He said what is important is to popularise the idea of the new bank across all sections of the community so that everyone embraces it.

Ivan Asiimwe, Secretary General Uganda Cooperative Alliance, assured the minister that despite the limited resources, they will do the job in three months, hoping that the new bank starts operations by next year.

 On the capacity to capitalize on the bank, Asiimwe said that so far the support shown by cooperative societies, political leaders, and farmers is enough indication that funding the new entity will not be an impossibility.

The committee will also review the findings of the Parliamentary Committee on statutory authorities and state enterprises on the closure of banks, including the Cooperative Bank. This will be part of the research into what caused the closure of the former cooperative bank.