An audit report on the operations of Mbarara Central Market
Vendors Savings Cooperative Society has found that part of the money donated by President Museveni can not be traced. The SACCO received sixty million shillings from the president as a donation for startup capital.
According to an external audit report, over 39 of the 60 million shillings could not be traced or accounted for by those running it.
The report
from the 2022/23 to the end of the 2023/24 financial year was presented to the
members and shareholders of Mbarara Central Market Vendors SACCO on Wednesday.
It said the SACCO lost 4 million in the 2023/2024 financial year and currently
has a loan portfolio of 91 million shillings.
While
presenting the Audit report Peter Kayebe, the external auditor, said that the missing 39 million
shillings was never documented and the statements he received from the bank
showed that the SACCo had spent more than a year without receiving any savings from its members and others paying back their loans.
He accused
the manager, Hope Kyarikunda, of refusing to provide him with all the necessary
documents and asked the Resident City Commissioner to force her to bring the
documents.
He also
accused the former SACCO board of neglecting their responsibilities as outlined
in the Cooperatives Act, thus failing the SACCO operations.
He insisted
that the former Board of the Sacco should be held accountable for recovering
the missing funds.
John
Byaruhaga, the Commercial Officer of Mbarara City South Division, accused the
former board chaired by Nyombi Muhammed of mismanaging the sacco.
He said that
SACCO had no money in its account with the commercial bank, and a
significant amount of money was unaccounted for.
//Cue in:
“So issue yakatare…
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…mbo bakarya sente.”//
Polly
Katwire, the Assistant Resident City Commissioner in Mbarara, gave the
Chairperson of the SACCO and his Board a two-week deadline to meet with all the
defaulters and establish convenient repayment methods. They are also required
to create a file and submit it to the Commissioner's office for special
investigations.
He warned
those suspected of being behind the missing money to return it to the SACCO
before being arrested.
He said the
government is willing to give more money to the SACCO if it is doing well.
"If the government finds that your SACCO is not performing well, they will
not provide additional funding," added Katwire.
Simpson
Mugabi, the current SACCO Chairman, said that the SACCO was facing challenges
due to a shortage of staff noting that the manager also acts as the cashier.
Mugabi added
that the manager is also demanding over 1 million shillings in arrears from the
Sacco, which she demands from March to July.
He also said
that Sacco does not have a work plan and budget to be followed in its
operations which required the approval of the general meeting.
Nyombi
Muhammad, the Chairperson of the old Sacco leadership, accused the external
auditor of auditing the Sacco without involving the Sacco staff. He also
criticized the auditor, narrating that he is not accountable.
//Cue in:
“nze ndowooza omuntu
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…byekora wamu n’staff.”//
Mbarara
Central Market SACCO was registered in 2011 and currently has about 600 members
and a total savings of about 400 million shillings.
