State House Warns Skilling Hub Graduates: Use Loans Wisely or Funding Will Not Increase

State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye, has issued a stern warning to beneficiaries of the Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs regarding the misuse of government-provided startup loans. She cautioned graduates against diverting these funds for non-productive purposes, such as excessive alcohol consumption or customary bride price payments. Ms. Barekye stressed that President Museveni’s commitment to increasing funding for graduates’ Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) is contingent upon the effective and disciplined management of the current revolving funds.

During a recent stakeholders’ engagement in Kyenjojo District, Ms. Barekye highlighted that the Shs50 million allocated to each district SACCO was an initial intervention to help graduates transform their newly acquired vocational skills into sustainable income-generating ventures. The engagement, which included State House officials, local leaders, SACCO executives, and beneficiaries, aimed to review the skilling programme’s performance and the utilisation of its revolving fund.

Ms. Barekye urged local leaders to actively monitor SACCO operations, ensuring that the funds disbursed by the President reach the intended recipients and are channeled into viable business projects. She also announced the deployment of a finance manager to bolster supervision and track the utilisation of these funds, emphasizing collaboration with existing district commercial officers rather than creating parallel structures.

Furthermore, she encouraged local governments to prioritize graduates by awarding them contracts and tenders for producing items like school desks and beds. Where projects exceed individual capacity, contractors should be prompted to employ youth trained at the skilling hubs. The community was also invited to leverage the hub’s four-acre model farm for practical agricultural training.

Testimonials from graduates like Ms. Kabasiita Janet (tailoring) and Mr. Abenitwe Jordan (carpentry) underscored the life-changing impact of the vocational training coupled with access to startup capital, despite some beneficiaries noting challenges with loan amounts and access requirements like National IDs. The programme aims to provide a viable alternative to unemployment and underemployment, fostering entrepreneurship and improving livelihoods across the region.

Source: https://statehouse.go.ug/state-house-warns-skilling-hub-graduates-against-misusing-loans-as-president-museveni-plans-to-increase-sacco-funding