Bugisu cooperative union has yet another time faced a financial management scandal just a few months after the government suspended the entire board and appointed a caretaker to manage the union.
The new scandal which has cost the union over 600 million shillings has been blamed on the new caretaker manager Batera Cyprian.
Government last year suspended the entire board of Bugisu cooperative union led by Nandala Mafabi the Budadiri West Member of Parliament and appointed Batera to caretaker the union. The scandal emerged from allegations that the board had misappropriated the union’s funds and the government subsequently setup an inquiry to investigate the allegation but today the findings have not been released.
Recently farmers petitioned to the area resident district commission to log a complaint against the government involvement into the affairs of the union.
The union is also involved in the financial in appropriate, john Musira the vice chairperson of Bugisu cooperative union claims that the board has documented evidence that the caretaker Cyprian Batara on 17th of January single handily withdraw 700 million shillings in cash centrally to the union’s policy.
Musira say no explanation was given for withdraw. He also claims that the union which had been on a steady recovery after two years of mismanagement has started posting losses. Musira says the farmers are organizing to stage a demonstration next Monday in Mbale to protest against government continued in what falls in the affairs of the union. When the former caretaker Cyprian Balera was contacted for a comment could not be reached.
Muliro one of the agreed farmers says the 1998 cooperative Act doesn’t allow the caretaker manager to run the affairs for the three months
By Mugisa Isaac Mathias
