Terego District Commercial Officer on spot over emyooga accountability

Terego, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Commercial Officer for Terego District, Apollonius Enima is on the spot for failure to account for funds disbursed under Emyooga programme, a presidential initiative on wealth and job creation.

Trouble for Enima, started on Friday during a community Baraza organized by Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) at Otumbari secondary school in Odupi Sub-county Terego district when he failed to account for the funds disbursed to the district when tasked by Grace Freedom Kwiyicwinyi, the State Minister for Northern Uganda.

However, Enima indicated that the report was not readily available but added that it was in his laptop,  and requested for an hour to present the report, something that angered the minister. Kwiyicwinyi directed the commercial officer to produce accountability within a one-week period or face arrest.

Launched in August 2019, the Emyooga programme seeks to transform 68-per cent of homesteads from subsistence to market –oriented production with the overall aim of promoting job creation and improving household income. To achieve this,the government funded 18 enterprises per constituency namely, taxi operators, fishermen, journalists, veterans, boda bodas, women entrepreneurs, welders, performing artists, and elected leaders among others.

Meanwhile, Mario Obiga Kania, the Member of Parliament for Terego East constituency also the State Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban development challenged the elected leaders not to sleep on their job but monitor government programmes like Emyooga and the Parish Development Module (PDM) such that the intended objectives of the programme are achieved.

Information obtained from Microfinance support center indicates that over shillings 1 billion has been disbursed to at least 33 Emyooga SACCOs in Terego district under the programme.

From 2019 to date, the government has funded 455 Emyooga SACCOs in the West Nile region worth over 14 billion shilling according to records from the Microfinance support center, a government agency established to manage micro credit programs.

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