By Kitts D.Mabonga
Business
A total of Uganda shs190 billion which was allocated for the Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) and Small Business Recovery Fund (SBRF) is still unclaimed, as per the Bank of Uganda.
The Deputy Director of ACF at the Central Bank, Edward Wanja, mentioned that out of the shs200 billion allocated by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, only shs10 billion shillings has been disbursed.
Wanja highlighted that the ACF fund was established in 2009 and fully operationalized in 2010 to provide low-interest loans at 12% to small, medium, and large-scale farming communities.
However, the uptake of loans has been low, possibly due to inadequate awareness campaigns at the time.
He was response to concerns raised by manufacturers regarding the high interest rates set by commercial banks.
They expressed dissatisfaction and questioned the rationale behind the central bank’s ongoing practice of providing ACF funds, intended to foster the development of the overall agricultural sector, to commercial banks, despite the fact that these banks already have access to the same facility.
They highlighted that, rather than transparently presenting the ACF facility documents, the commercial banks choose to conceal them and promote their own expensive agricultural loan facility to unsuspecting and insufficiently informed potential customers, who ultimately end up taking out loans with high interest rates and strict conditions.
This was during the financial symposium and exhibition hosted at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) exhibition centre in Lugogo.
“We would like to inform this august house that the Central bank was allocated shs200bn by the as funding support to the ACF but only shs10bn has actually been loaned out,” Wanja noted.
He said in the recent past they (Central Bank) embarked on community outreach programs around the country to carry out sensitization campaigns encouraging farmers to take up such loans.
Wanja said later after the Covid -19 pandemic the finance ministry set up SBRF to support the farmers who lost out due to the pandemic with up over shs800bn targeting agricultural value chain and agro-processing among others.
He lamented that the loan uptake was still stagnating, though with promising improvement as the bank drives up public awareness campaigns.
The chairman of United Bank for Africa [UBA], Hajji Mustafa Kigozi Sebagala, expressed his gratitude for the strong networking relationship between commercial banks and the central bank.
He emphasized the importance of sector players working together as a team to effectively serve the public.
He highlighted UBA bank as a friendly institution that provides low-cost agricultural loan facilities to meet the logistical needs of the common man.
He also expressed disappointment over the unsuccessful fund requests made 10-15 years ago, questioning the reasons behind it.
Wanja made it clear that the central bank does not directly provide loans to consumers. Instead, the loans are channeled through commercial banks, which are required by law to promptly and fairly distribute the loans to eligible customers.
He went on to express disappointment regarding commercial banks withholding the money, which ultimately hinders customers and undermines the government’s efforts to support the agricultural sector’s growth.
Dr. Ezra Rubanda, the executive director of UMA, expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders who responded to their invitation.
He acknowledged that the symposium successfully achieved its intended objectives.
Additionally, he extended his appreciation to their mother ministry of trade, industry, and cooperatives, as well as other government bodies, for their valuable technical and logistical support.
Rubanda assured that UMA will persistently fulfill its mandate to ensure improved outcomes for its members.
The event held under the theme ‘Financing solutions for the manufacturing sector’ brought together players such as manufacturers, insurance actors, financial institutions, government ministries, departments and agencies [MDAs], the private sector, researchers, and academia among others.
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