Local council leaders have been tasked to take advantage of Emyooga funds to promote financial empowerment for women.
The call was made by President Yoweri Museveni during the International Women’s Day celebrations at Kololo on Tuesday.
Emyooga is a Presidential Wealth Creation Program launched in 2019 to lift at least 68% Ugandans “from subsistence to market-oriented production. It has however faced criticism from several
Ugandans following reports that indicated a failure to utilize money disbursed by different districts under the Fund.
This was due to some SACCOs failing to save up to 30% of what they wanted to borrow as per the requirements.
However, Museveni said that next financial year, beneficiaries of the Emyooga funds should be entitled to a minimum of One Million Shillings to be able to realize a profit in their different income-generating projects.
Besides financial empowerment, other sectors like health, security, and education were also looked at as avenues to promote women's empowerment.
During the ceremony, 33 people were decorated with medals. These included 21 civilians, three UPDF soldiers, and 5 police officers. This year’s global Women’s Day theme was “Gender Equality today for Sustainable Tomorrow.”
