By Henry Okello
TORORO
The Governor Bank of Uganda, Michael Ating -Ego has asked financial institutions and stakeholders to re-channel business model strategies that can lift the population engaged in subsistence agriculture to the money economy.
Ating was on Friday, 21st February, 2025 at Rock classic Hotel Tororo district in a Town Hall meeting organized by the Bank of Uganda to inform the general public on the bank’s activities and as well get feedback from them on how they can improve their activities.
The Governor said that it’s now time, the financial institutions, like banks, find ways on how they can fund commercial farming and value addition change, particularly of agricultural products.
He notes that many Ugandans have embraced production of agricultural products, but they are currently facing challenges of low prices, which result into low production due to lack of morale.
“The Bank of Uganda has come with agricultural credit facility, a public private partnership with institutions to help boost production and value chain addition, and so far, several farmers in the district have benefited from this, however, to achieve economic stability in the country, everybody has a role to play,” he added.
Meanwhile, the local leaders asked the bank to work towards moderating the high cost of mobile money services, high interest rate coming from bank loans and misuse of collateral by banks, like misplacing clients’ loan titles and other important documents.
Responding to these issues related to financial institution, the chairperson of Uganda Bankers Association, Wilfbrod Owor mentioned that the high interest rates in the country are informed by the high operation cost.
John Okea, the Tororo district Chairperson urged Bank of Uganda to find a way of saving the district from what he called fake money lenders who go around giving vulnerable people daily loans with high interest rates.
Okea says if unchecked, the practice is going to make Ugandans poorer.
Hajji Bateman Sadiq, The Tororo Resident District Commissioner RDC applauded the Bank of Uganda for working towards stabilizing the Ugandan economy over time.
Meanwhile, Susan Kanyemibwa, the Bank of Uganda secretary, says after these Town Hall meetings, the bank is set to come up with better policies that are to help grow the economy. However, she encourages dependents to continue borrowing money from financial institutions, because it is the only way they can get quick capital.
