Leaders of Uganda’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) have secured strong backing from President Yoweri Museveni following direct engagements over what they described as growing regulatory threats to the cooperative movement.
On January 29, 2026, officials from the Uganda Cooperative Savings and Credit Union (UCSCU), alongside the Uganda Cooperative Alliance and other sector stakeholders, first met Speaker of Parliament Anita Among before proceeding to State House to brief the President on challenges facing SACCOs nationwide.
The delegation told President Museveni that thousands of SACCOs were under pressure from multiple regulators, particularly the Bank of Uganda (BoU), which had begun requiring large SACCOs to apply for licences similar to those issued to commercial banks.
UCSCU Board Chairperson Col. Allan Kitanda said the leaders explained to the President that SACCOs are member-owned, non-profit cooperatives and should not be regulated using frameworks designed for commercial financial institutions.
“We explained that SACCOs are not banks. Regulating us like banks threatens our survival and undermines financial inclusion,” Kitanda said.
After hearing the concerns, President Museveni directed the Bank of Uganda to halt actions targeting SACCOs that have not applied for central bank licences and instead limit its role to oversight, particularly monitoring financial flows to curb money laundering and other financial crimes.
“The President guided that Bank of Uganda should not take over SACCOs through regulations that ignore their cooperative nature,” Kitanda said.
Museveni also agreed with SACCO leaders that taxing cooperatives would weaken community-based financial systems, especially in rural areas where SACCOs remain the primary source of affordable credit. He therefore directed that the income tax exemption for SACCOs, which is due to expire in June 2027, should be extended.
“The President agreed that SACCOs should not be taxed because they are community institutions that support ordinary Ugandans,” Kitanda noted.
During the meeting, the SACCO leadership reaffirmed its commitment to complying with the Anti-Money Laundering Act and international financial standards, stressing that the sector is not opposed to regulation but to overlapping supervision.
“We support regulation, but we want one regulator who understands SACCOs,” Kitanda said. “With over 30,000 SACCOs in Uganda, it is not practical to subject them to three or four regulators at the same time.”
To resolve the regulatory impasse, President Museveni directed that a high-level stakeholders’ meeting, chaired by Speaker Anita Among, be convened to agree on a single, harmonised and enabling regulatory framework for the SACCO sector.
UCSCU welcomed the President’s intervention, saying it has restored confidence among millions of SACCO members across the country.
“We urge all SACCOs to remain calm and uphold professionalism as we await further guidance,” Kitanda said. “This is a significant step towards protecting and strengthening the cooperative movement in Uganda.”
