WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2011-01-06 Time: 02:00:04 Posted By: News Poster
By Joel Ogwang
AS charming as the morning star, they emerge. Yet, like dew, they vanish, leaving no trail. Money lenders!
When Moses Kiryapao borrowed sh500,000 from Dutch International, a money lending firm in Mbale, all was rosy.
“They gave me a false belief that banks were cheats,” he says. “I repaid the loan with 30% interest in three months. It helped me a lot.”
On second asking, and upon building false confidence from their unsuspecting clients, the firm robbed Kiryapao and others of over sh5b.
In pure fraudster style, it registered thousands of customers, asking them to deposit sh200,000 to get membership cards that would entitle them to interest-free loans.
“Within a week, many people paid-up,” says Nuwa Wasieba, another victim. “Their offices in Mbale town and Kampala Road were shut. We couldn’t contact them since even their phones have been off since 2008. They robbed us!”
Once beaten, twice shy, it is said. But when Tem, another money-lending firm hit Mbale, memories of Dutch International’s fleecing were fast erased.
“They made people sign and deposit monies, claiming they would give them twice their deposit fee,” says Paul Soddo, the Mbale commercial officer.
“By the time we got to know of the scheme, many were robbed. Since then, people have shunned saving and credit cooperatives (SACCOs).”
Like Tem and Dutch International, the National Council of Small Business Organisation (NCUSIBO) stole from Kiboga residents, claiming to be a government body mandated to give out free Prosperity-for-All (bona bagaggawale) monies.
“Even when the Microfinance Support Centre urged people to form SACCOs and access government monies, people fought it and refused to join,” says Kiboga district commercial officer Jackson Katusiime.
Threat to SACCOs
According to Ruth Nankabirwa, the micro-finance state minister, money-lenders are threatening the government’s SACCO-led war on poverty.
They mostly target rural communities where they exploit people’s ignorance and illiteracy.
“The money-lenders force people into signing documents they don’t understand,” says the minister.
“People sign documents showing they are donating to charity and not applying for loans.”
They offer high interest rates of up to 50%, compared to the government’s 9% and 13% rates per annum for agricultural and commercial loans.
Why the Government chose the SACCO way
When the Government rolled-out the Prosperity-for-All programme in 2006, its vision was to help the active but poor Ugandans access microfinance loans through SACCOs.
The programme seeks to empower Uganda to transform from subsistence to a commercially-oriented and self-sustaining economy.
SACCOs provided an avenue for developing a savings culture since they are community-based, member-owned and controlled.
Grants to SACCOs
To boost SACCOs, the Government has injected sh24.5b in capacity building grants to SACCOs since the launch of Prosperity-for-All.
Through the Rural Financial Services programme (RFSP) implemented by the Uganda Cooperative Savings and Credit Union, the Government avails SACCOs with, among others, motorcycles, computers, furniture, staff training and generators.
At least 735 SACCOs in 700 of the targeted 1,085 targeted sub-counties have accessed the capacity building grants worth sh4b from their regional offices in Kabale, Fort Portal, Masaka, Iganga, Soroti, Lira, Mororto, Mbarara and Arua.
“Our (Government) support is aimed at reducing operational costs, and since 2008, SACCOs have saved over sh21b, with a loan portfolio of over sh32b,” Nankabirwa says.
As well, the Government has earmarked sh20b for the development of SACCOs in this 2010/11 fiscal year.
To ensure smooth flow of SACCO information to Ugandans, the Government recently launched an RFSP communication strategy.
“We will be able to use the media to reach as many Ugandans as possible since Ugandans have a right to comprehend government programmes,” says Yusuf Giduno, the RFSP spokesman.
Lending rates
Apparently, the Microfinance Support Centre, a state-owned company, handles whole-sale lending to SACCOs at annual interest rates of 9% and 13% for agricultural and commercial loans respectively.
The interests cover operational costs, inflation and defaults on loan repayment, says Henry Mbaguta, the assistant commissioner in-charge of microfinance.
“There is no bank in Uganda that gives such cheap rates,” he says. “Even the World Bank lends Uganda at that rate. This rate is fair enough.”
The Central Bank has also granted Post Bank a green light, elevating it into a fully-fledged commercial bank.
Prior to this, customers were referred to other commercial banks for business involving cheques. The bank will soon start issuing cheques.
Post Bank, a100% government-owned bank, promotes linkages to Tier 4 microfinance institutions, including SACCOs,and also implements schemes like the land acquisition/ kyapa and rural electrification.
Money lending Bill in offing
To clamp-down on quacks passing as money-lenders, the Government has drafted a Bill to regulate money lending.
Apparently, a section of the Financial Institutions Act empowers the Bank of Uganda Governor, Tumusiime Mutebile, to arrest unscrupulous money lenders, but is not ‘biting’ enough, says Nankabirwa.
“The (money-lending) Bill will be tabled in the ninth Parliament,” she says. “Many Ugandans have been conned and this is the time we are cracking the whip.”
The Government has also drafted a Tier 4 Microfinance Bill that will provide a regulatory and supervisory framework for the operation of SACCOs.
“It (the Bill) will safeguard members’ savings and further enhance confidence in locally managed saving systems,” she says.
Original Source: 
Original date published: 5 January 2011
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201101060026.html?viewall=1