The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has instructed the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) to produce a comprehensive list of all recipients of the Emyooga funds for the financial year 2022/23.
This list must include details on the amounts loaned and the repayments made, following a troubling revelation by the Auditor General that over 70% of the loans disbursed have not been recovered.
The directive was issued after the PAC had to call off a meeting due to the insufficient information provided by the MSC.The documents submitted did not meet the committee’s requirements, leading to frustration among the MPs.
Susan Amero, MP for Amuria District Woman Representative, expressed her concerns about the accuracy of the information, noting inconsistencies such as SACCOs being labeled with dual district origins like Gulu/Lira. She questioned the clarity and organization of the data provided.
“What is difficult with disaggregating because we want the one which is in the financial year in question? So if you know it is cumulative, why didn’t you give us the portion that we are interested in? Why are you giving us all because this is quite confusing; you are trying to divert our attention from what we are interested in?” Amero questioned.
John Mwebembezi, Head of Finance at the Microfinance Support Centre, responded to the committee’s concerns, explaining that the total funds available for the Emyooga program amounted to Shs152.7 billion. This included Shs100 billion for the current financial year and funds carried forward. Out of this, Shs70.71 billion was disbursed. Mwebembezi acknowledged the need for detailed information and agreed to provide a comprehensive list of the beneficiaries.
“It isn’t asking for too much of course as we keep on coming, we note that MPs require additional information to understand this, not that we intend not to bring but MPs find themselves needing more. I think that is why it is back and forth because to understand more, the MPs need to go into deep portfolio analysis to understand the entire portfolio and initially, that isn’t what we understood, but now we understand that MPs require more information to internalize and we are on the same page,” Mwebembezi explained.
The PAC’s demand for clarity comes amidst growing concerns over the effectiveness and accountability of the Emyooga program, which is intended to boost household incomes and improve the livelihoods of Ugandans through microfinance support.
The committee is expected to reconvene once the MSC provides the required detailed documentation.
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