Following scare news that some disgruntled members of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) were planning to petition Lt Col Edith Nakalema, the top UPF leadership has taken remedial steps which (according to publicist Polly Namaye) are aimed at better service delivery.
Namaye explains that the new improvements have so far taken the form of a banking hall being established to increase the convenience for police officers seeking to access their funds.
The decision follows recent chaos that locked police headquarters Exodus SACCO offices resulting from SACCO members (basically police officers) protesting long queues and the slow pace at which services were being offered. It is reported that early this week, officers endured three days of waiting before they could access their money.
During the long wait, junior officers accused their seniors of mishandling the SACCO. Media reports, quoting anonymous sources, show that some police officers almost wrestled their seniors who wanted to bypass queues while others threatened violence against Sacco managers headed by Henry Kalulu.
“How can I fail to access the money I have been saving for three years? I will not leave this place unless I get my money,” media reports quoted one Inspector of Police as protesting.
Polly Namaye says that the Exodus Sacco at Naguru is overwhelmed by numbers from the metropolitan region, covering the districts of Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono.
“Kampala, which has the biggest number of clients, is in the process of opening up a banking hall at the SACCO headquarters at Naguru. The banking hall will be completed by the end of this month,” said Namaye. She explains that currently with the latest management interventions, on average Shs490m is being withdrawn by the SACCO clients daily.
Yet this isn’t the first-time chaos has ensued in Naguru relating to the ineptness in service delivery at the SACCO headquarters. December last year there was a stampede at the same offices as hundreds of officers came to pick their money for the Christmas period. The resultant inconvenience prompted some police officers to opt out of the SACCO membership.
Namaye also says that the videos of police officers that have been circulating on social media indicating that police officers were fighting for Easter money were false and an act of fake news. She says more than enough money had been released to be accessed by all officers saving with the SACCO. “The photos, videos and online articles portray police officers in a disorderly, uncoordinated and frustrated state of being. This is contrary to the purpose and intention for which the SACCO was established in 2007,” Namaye said.
Namaye further explained that activities of withdrawal, deposits and loan application at Exodus SACCO at headquarters at Naguru are carried out nonstop throughout the year.
She adds that starting May 2019, the SACCO will further decentralize service delivery by opening liaison offices in Kabale, Iganga and Soroti. For comments, call or text us on 0704142939
