Op-ed: Is Agricultural cooperative bank Gen Mk's project or Gen M7's campaign strategy 2026?

A concerned Ugandan Lt. Moses Mugisha Magufuri has over the years held discussions with various stakeholders over the establishment of Agriculture and Cooperative Bank in Uganda.

Magufuri is the chief coordinator for the establishment of Agriculture and Cooperate Bank in the country, has been highlighting that the bank will serve the interests of farmers such as providing cheap credit, quality seeds and other farm agro-inputs.

In March 2023, Magufuri petitioned the Speaker of Parliament over the absence of a cooperative bank in the country, calling on Members of Parliament to support his idea of establishing a new bank that would address farmers’ needs.

However, Ugandans believe that Magufuri’s potential to meet key religious, cultural and student leaders over the bank establishment matter shouldn’t be taken for granted. Others believes that the deployment of Gen. Wilson Mbasu Mbadi a senior military officer in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces and the Minister of State for trade, industry and cooperatives is to scale up Magufuri’s project.

Over the years since the late 1990s when the Government embraced the idea of the International Monitory Fund that led to the closure of Uganda Commercial Bank and Cooperative bank, the current government has put up several initiatives to support farmers and the agriculture sector but has reaped nothing.

Magufuri says; ‘’Much as government’s key priority areas are peace and security, road maintenance and construction, electricity transmission and utilization of existing stock, wealth creation initiative ,tourism support, PDM and Skilling projects, investing in people through social sectors of education and manufacturing in order to grow Jobs to the people without prioritizing the proposal of establishment an Agricultural cooperative bank in Uganda to support agro industrial approach , Uganda is heading into borrowing slavery culture putting electorates to hate government in power as result of Parliament’s weakness to think outside box in terms of economic restoration.

Initiatives such as Entandikwa Scheme, Plan for modernization of Agriculture (PAM), Poverty Eradication Program (PEP), Bonna bagaggawale, NAADS, WEP, Operation Wealth Creation, (OWC), Emyooga, YLP, Luweero Triangle Fund, Community Agriculture Infrastructure Improvement Program (CAIIP) and many others have failed because of mismanagement of funds.

Yet the government has always borrowed money to support such initiatives since the current tax base cannot support these operations, however, despite the fact that money which runs these initiatives is borrowed, managers have squandered these monies for their personal gains and government for many years has not yielded from them.

Looking at the current initiative Parish Development Model (PDM) even if it was to create an impact in the communities, it will not because the factors that led to the failure of the past initiatives have not been worked on, and in the end, the managers and those close to them will become rich leaving the targeted people (farmers) drowning in the sea of poverty.

The government’s emphasis to extensively uplift farmers must be a frontline battle by not only runners of these operations but even the Parliament must fully carry out inspections on how best such initiatives can serve maximumly their targets. Because according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics over 70 per cent of Uganda’s working population is employed in agriculture which calls for serious supervision.

However, as per the current situation, the way poverty eradication schemes are managed; there is still a long way. All investigation reports that have been carried out on why these initiatives don’t serve up to the last common man is because of poor financial management which is covered with corruption, and high bank rates. Rtd. Lt. Magufuli has always pushed for an Agriculture and Cooperative Bank in Uganda.

‘’Specifically, if Post Bank is converted into an agriculture and Cooperative Bank, a lot of the perennial challenges that have been making the previous initiative fail would be solved’’, Magufuli said in a recent interview.

The Bank itself will work as a bridge between the financial wing and the farmers either through SACCOs or at individual levels in accessing credit loans at relative or not interest rates since the sole aim of the bank will be to uplift the entire agricultural sector of the country.

According to Rtd Lt Mugisha, over 68 per cent of Ugandans who are engaged in Agriculture have been dehumanized by commercial banks since they ask for high-interest rates because their aim is to make profits not to help farmers and the agricultural sector at large.

He alludes that if his proposal is embraced, Post Bank is the best bank to change into an agriculture bank because it has over 66 branches across the country and it won’t be complicated because it has already established structures that are necessary to execute the necessary roles sufficiently.

In one of the interviews, he carried out in one of the dailies, Rtd Lt Magufuri noted that for the government manage the challenge of finances in the poverty eradication schemes, it must create one finance vehicle instead of using different ventures whose main objectives is to maximize profits.

“There are several scattered Government funds channeled through initiatives such as NAADS, Emyooga, Women Development Fund, Luweero and Northern Uganda Development funds, as well as the Parish Development Model. The fact is that people do not need so many development initiatives but an agriculture and cooperative bank that can finance their ideas by giving them,” he said.

Post bank Uganda has been in Uganda since 1926 when it was started as a department in the Post Office and as of December 2020, Postbank Uganda had total assets worth Shs745 billion with shareholders’ equity worth Shs117.1 billion.

Who is Mugisha Moses Magufuri Babyomera

Born on February 2, 1986 just a few days after the NRM government assuming power, its only right to refer to Mugisha moses Magufuri Babyomera populary known as Gen. Saleh’s Blue eyed boy a true product of President Museveni’s government.

He is a consultant, Researcher, Farmer and political activist against corruption. Magufuri was raised by Rtd Major Babumba Bwohe Henry, a pilot instructor in the Nakasongola Airforce together with Gen Mugisha Muntu’s elder brother Herbert Muntu Nuwagaba. Due to his humble family background, Magufuri is said to be a no-nonsense officer who walks the Talk, is principled, honest and respectful.

The retired Litenaunt in the UPDF army sat his PLE from Kako P/S, UCE from Rwentobo H/S before he moved to Highway College Makerere where he sat his UACE from with Pastor Wilson Bugembe. After his high school studies, he moved to Nkumba University where he obtained a bachelors degree in Procurement and logistics management. He later added a Masters of procurement and logistics management from the same University. Magufuri also obtained another Masters degree of science in monitoring and evaluation from Nkozi University.

Rtd Lt Magufuri worked with Roofings Ltd as Administration Assistant and at Bishop Stuart University Mbarara as a lecturer. He officially joined the army in 2011 from Kabamba Military Academy in Uganda, he was sent to Somalia in 2013 until 2015 on special duties during the struggle by UPDF to restore peace in Somalia where he significantly fought corruption amongst the army something that prompted Gen. Saleh and Operation wealth Creation to deploy him as Procurement and seed monitoring officer at NAADS. At the time of his appointment, NAADS had challenges including corruption, supplying of poor quality seeds among others.

Well known for fighting corruption in the army while in Somalia and in NAADS, Magufuri decided to give politics a shot and in 2018, his retirement from the army was approved. This was meant to enable him prepare for the 2021 general elections as Ntungamo Municipality Member of Parliament, a position he aspired for. He however lost the position earlier to Yonah Musinguzi in the NRM party primaries that happened in late 2020, shortly before the general elections in January 2021.