The Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) has urged beneficiaries of the Emyooga programme to embrace cleanliness as part of running sustainable businesses, saying poor hygiene and waste management can undermine the health of entrepreneurs, customer confidence, and wealth creation.
The call was made during the fourth National Cleaning Day held in Lira City on October 31, where MSC joined government officials and Emyooga beneficiaries in cleaning activities.
Tadeo Atuhura, MSC Head of Communications, said the institution’s participation was informed by the connection between a healthy population and productive livelihoods.
“Our mandate is to transform the livelihood of the active poor through providing capacity-building and affordable credit. We achieve this by working through Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs), groups, associations, cooperatives and microfinance institutions,” Atuhura said.
“The groups we support can create wealth through the affordable credit and capacity-building services we provide. However, for people to create wealth, they must also be healthy.”
MSC works with Emyooga groups representing different enterprises, including restaurant owners, salon operators, carpenters and welders. Atuhura said maintaining clean business premises was essential not only for public health but also for attracting customers and sustaining enterprises.
“For instance, salon operators need to maintain clean premises to attract customers. Similarly, restaurants must observe good hygiene practices to ensure they prepare and serve safe, quality food in clean environments,” he said.
He added that good health also reduces the money entrepreneurs spend on medical treatment, allowing them to remain economically active. “When someone is healthy, they spend less on medical bills and can continue working and engaging in productive activities,” Atuhura said.
The cleaning campaign also exposed Emyooga beneficiaries to waste separation, particularly the need to handle electronic waste separately from ordinary garbage.
The connection between cleanliness and business growth was also emphasised by Maxwell Adoko, chairperson of Lira Municipality Carpenters Emyooga SACCO and the Lango Sub-region Emyooga. Adoko said carpenters had a particular responsibility to manage waste because their activities generate substantial amounts of sawdust and other materials.
“As carpenters, we are among the people who generate a lot of waste,” he said. “Much of the waste from our machines is already used to make briquettes, while other materials that we cannot use have been disposed of.”
He said the cleaning exercise had helped members understand that electronic waste should not be mixed with other waste, adding that the SACCO would pass the message to its members.
“We are going to put this knowledge into practice and spread the message to our SACCO members,” Adoko said.
He also welcomed the government’s proposed cleanliness competition among cities, districts and communities, saying it would encourage local groups to improve their surroundings.
“The cleaning competition is a very motivating activity. We are going to take it up because it gives us the morale to work harder,” he said. “We are going to work very hard to ensure that we become the best nationally.”
Adoko linked the initiative to the wider economic purpose of Emyooga, saying healthy entrepreneurs were better positioned to participate in productive activities.
“For our people to develop, they need to be healthy. And for people to enjoy good health, hygiene is essential,” he said. He also used the occasion to encourage SACCO members to strengthen their savings, noting that saving was central to the sustainability of their enterprises.
“Before you give credit, you have to save,” Adoko said, urging members to build savings for their future and the development of their SACCOs.
Mary Mukamanzi, chairperson of Lira Salon Operators SACCO, said the group was working to expand its membership. She said the association began in 2001, with serious operations starting in 2002, and initially brought together members organised in 12 groups. The SACCO now has seven associations. According to Mukamanzi, the groups were accessing funds through Emyooga and repaying their loans.
She added that training had helped members improve their management of the SACCO and that they planned to recruit more salon operators. “Next Thursday, we are going to hold a salon operators’ fraternity meeting to register more associations,” Mukamanzi said. “We are also inviting the Microfinance Support Centre to attend and speak to the operators.”
The fourth National Cleaning Day was officiated by Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi, representing the Prime Minister, and attended by Government Chief Whip and Lira City Woman MP Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, ICT and National Guidance Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba, State Minister for Economic Monitoring Sandra Santa Alum, local leaders and other stakeholders.