Minister Balaam warns against misuse of GROW funds
The training was attended by over 200 women from different parts of the district.
Masindi: The Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, Dr. Balaam Barugahara, has urged women to use the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity Women (GROW) funds for their intended purposes.
With funding from the World Bank, last year, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni launched a 5-year USD 217 million GROW project, which intends to empower women’s projects.
While launching the project on Thursday, April 10, 2024, in Masindi district at the Kabalega Resort Hotel, Dr. Balaam stressed that in most cases, beneficiaries of such programs tend to use the funds for other unintended purposes, like sponsoring marriage ceremonies, among others.
Dr. Balaam said the fund is earmarked to empower and boost women in business. ‘’The fund is a grant to boost women from small-scale businesses to medium-scale businesses, especially in diary and apiary but also in other businesses,’’ he added.
He applauded the government for the project and said it would improve household income. The minister also challenged the beneficiaries to use the funds to uplift them from poverty to a money economy.
‘’They should use the money sparingly. Let them only spend profits on their personal needs, and the rest of the money should be reinvested in the projects to become richer and richer.’’
Patrick Kalunda, a researcher from Bulindi NARO, said they trained women’s’ entrepreneurs in goat, dairy, and apiary enterprises and imparted skills to women in order to improve their livelihoods.
He stated that, in most cases, women have inadequate skills for managing the above projects. Kalunda therefore said that the GROW project, through the Ministry of Gender, asked them to train the women in the above projects in order to impart skills and improve their yields.
Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity Women (GROW) fundsasserted that they are partnering with the GROW project so that they can rally women to embrace dairy farming as a business to improve their household income.
‘’We are working with women entrepreneurs to skill them in value addition, adding value to raw milk; we want to increase household income and nutrition in Bunyoro,’’ she added.
Kyomuhangi asked women in Masindi to embrace the GROW project and adopt best animal husbandry practices since they will have access to the grant.
The Masindi District Chief Administrative Officer, Sanyu Phiona, asked the women to embrace the GROW project and be transparent.
The Masindi LCV Chairman, Cosmas Byaruhanga, said this is a great opportunity for the women in dairy, apiary, and goat rearing, and he is optimistic women will be able to improve their household income, which is a great achievement for the population.
Byaruhanga also pledged total support to Masindi women entrepreneurs and asked them to embrace the GROW project to improve their businesses.
Women speak out
Jovia Kasigaire, a resident of Kijunjubwa village and a member of the Namugogo Bull Fattening Association, said that currently there are 20 members with 20 bulls, but they are renting about 100 acres of land for the project.
She said that if they receive the funds, they will be able to buy land and expand their project. ”Currently, we are incurring a lot of expenses because we are still renting land for the project, but if we receive this fund, we shall be able to buy our own piece of land for the project.’’
Kasigaire also applauded the government and said they will be able to put the funds to use for the intended purposes.
Mbabazi Joyce said the fund will improve their project’s income, whereby they will be able to buy more beehives, which will increase their production.
She added that they will be able to buy parking materials and sell parked honey, thus improving their value and income.
”Currently, we have 100 beehives; if we receive this fund, we shall be able to buy more beehives, parking materials, and parked honey, which will improve the value of our honey and income.’’
The training was attended by over 200 women from different parts of the district.
Do you have an advertisement or article you want to publish? Mail us at theugreports@gmail.com or WhatsApp +256757022363.
