WAZALENDO SACCO’S PERFORMANCE COMMENDED

WAZALENDO SACCO’S PERFORMANCE COMMENDED

Wazalendo Savings and Credit Cooperative Society held it’s 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Gaddafi Barracks in Jinja City on 24th March 2023. The AGM was held under the theme ; “Growing Membership for Sustainability”.

The State Minister for Defence and Veterans Affair (MODVA), Hon Jacob Oboth Oboth who represented the Minister of Defense Hon Vincent Bamurangaki Ssempijja congratulated the UPDF and Wazalendo SACCO for the milestones registered in the shortest period of it’s existence. “Iam so exited that Wazalendo has become a game changer in the question of addressing welfare for the UPDF personnel. UPDF forces fought several wars and won them all. Iam proud that now they can gather here to discuss the economics”. Jacob Oboth Emphasized.

Hon Oboth applauded the Board of Directors (BOD) and Management of the SACCO for the great work done that has made wazalendo the largest and best performing SACCO in Uganda.
“I encourage WSACCO leadership to continue working hard and to contribute to the economy of Uganda. I call upon leaders at all levels in UPDF to support WSACCO so that it continues rendering better services and protect the personnel from the exploiters”, Oboth said.

The Commander Land Forces (CLF) Lt Gen. Kayanja Muhanga who represented the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Wilson Mbadi, thanked the government, UPDF leadership, the civilian partners and WSACCO leaders for the good job done. “At the begining everyone doubted the intent of establishing WSACCO myself inclusive. It gives me joy to see that we are now venturing in into business. As a member I’ve all my salary passing through WSACCO. I have got many loans from the SACCO which I have invested and I am doing well. I am very happy Wazalendo has now broadened it’s objectives by starting up a Business Arm which will generate more income to the SACCO to support development of the members.

The Chairman WSACCO BOD Maj Gen Sam Kavuma appreciated the MODVA for the continuous support given to WSACCO which he said was the main reason it has registered visible achievements. He also thanked the CDF Gen WM Mbadi through his representative for being a great supporter and for leading by example in terms of share holding and savings. He paid special gratitude to Service Commanders, Division Commanders, Chiefs and Directors for continuously mobilising and sensitising the troops under their command to patronise the SACCO. “The big figures shown here come from the people you command. I appeal to you Commanders to encourage members to utilize the convenient services WSACCO offers by passing their salaries through WSACCO. Continue mobilising our troops to save, borrow and investing their money purposefully, Gen Kavuma emphasized.

Gen Kavuma noted that from 2007 when the started giving out loans, over 2 trillion has been given to members to finance the economic and social aspirations.

Gen Kavuma appreciated the BOD members for the support. He asked them to jealously protect WSACCO because it is no longer just a welfare project but security threat once it is mismanaged. He informed the AGM that the BOD has operationalized the investment arm; Wazalendo Investment (SMC) LTD abbreviated as WIL which he said is intended to actualize the development aspect of WSACCO vision.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Committee Col Justus Rukundo said that the SUPCO report focuses on WSACCO’s compliance. with cooperative act Cap.112 and it’s regulations, WSACCO bylaws ,policies, plans and AGM resolutions.

He reported that all financial statements presented by management and external auditors were in line with the relevant international Accounting standards and SACCO’s accounting policy.

The Chief Executive Officer Col Joseph Freddy Onata highlighted the status of the SACCO for the ended 31 December 2022. In his report he said that in terms of operations the year was difficult and was characterized by high cost of living due to rising prices of essential commodities and increased cost of doing business.
He said that the membership remained stable at over 90,000, share capital stood at 223.5Bn, loan portfolio 623 Bn. Total deposits were 351 Bn while total assets were 775 Bn, surplus registered during the year was 60.0Bn and taxes paid (PAYE) stood at 1.1 Bn.

The CEO noted that Wazalendo’s commitment to deliver sustainability can only be achieved by continuously building confidence, winning trust and maintaining the loyalty of the members.
Col onata said that the enablers to WSACCO’s good performance amidst a challenging economic environment were; resilience, creativity, innovation and robustness of systems. He noted that a focused BoD and agile work force and productive engagement with stakeholders have been other success factors.

He appreciated the BOD for good stewardship and SUPCO for the professional oversight role that they continue to play.

The Assistant Registrar of Cooperatives Mr Mpakibi Waiswa Robert thanked Wazalendo SACCO for flying the Cooperatives flag high. He appreciated the government for creating a conducive environment for Cooperatives to thrive.
He commended WSACCO BOD establishing the investments arm and guided that the Investments should be done but in furtherance of the SACCO mandate as established in the law.
He asked WSACCO BOD to keep on sharing experiences in order to uplift other growing SACCOs and those that are still struggling.

Charity Namanya
PR Manager WSACCO