Wazalendo Savings and Credit Cooperative Society- (WSACCO) leaders and managers have received risk management and communication training.
The two trainings were conducted at WSACCO Head Office in Kiwatule Kampala from 28th – 29th of September 2022.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hon Gen Sam Kavuma, while closing the Risk Management training, underscored the importance of continuous training as a means of filling the knowledge and skills gaps and overcoming the outcomes of employing unskilled personnel who are recruited on the basis of paper qualifications.
The participants of the two-day training on Risk Management were drawn from the Board of Directors (BOD) Audit Committee, Supervisory Committee (SUPCO) and the top Management of WSACCO.
In his remarks, Gen Kavuma noted that such trainings are important for capacity building, acquisition of knowledge and building personnel confidence.
He reminded the participants that WSACCO started small and during that time there was little emphasis on skills due to small numbers and limited volume of transactions but with the portfolio that WSACCO holds now, the increasing volume and spread of delivery channels, the risks are enormous and therefore require continuous training of both leadership and staff to enable them acquire modern knowledge and update their skills in order to deliver quality services that ensure the growth and sustainability of WSACCO on one hand and minimizing the attendant risks on the other.
According to Gen Kavuma, the training budget is to be enhanced come Financial year 2023-2024 in order to enable the rest of the leaders and the staff to acquire more knowledge and skills.
“I relate lack of knowledge and skills to a building with a poor foundation, the moment you see a big crack, it is a pointer to errors and poor workmanship at the foundation level. You must utilize the opportunities offered by such training sessions to lay a solid foundation for producing good results in your respective offices,” Chairman Board Of Directors said.
He thanked the trainers for the job well done and the trainees for their attendance.
“The Risk Management training will help in equipping you leaders and staff with risk awareness capabilities so that you are able to identify potential risks in the business and get to know how to manage manage,” Kavuma emphasized.
The Chief Executive Officer of Wazalendo SACCO, Col Joseph Freddy Onata, who officiated at the closure of Strategic Communication training for all the 19 Branch Managers and 06 Liaison Officers of WSACCO on the same day and at the same venue, congratulated the staff upon completing the course and encouraged them to put in use the knowledge they had acquired and also be able to transfer the knowledge to the rest of their workmates if the training is to be of any meaningful value.
“Use the strategic communication skills that you have acquired in this training to communicate effectively to our critical stakeholders especially the members. Use communication for problems solving and to drive WSACCO’s Vision and Mission. You can however only achieve that once you avoid the ” I” “my” and “their ” syndrome in your communication and adopt “we” “us” and “our” in all your communication. Start responding to the members with appropriate and relevant answers at the right time. Know how to communicate on behalf of the institution in order to promote the strategic decisions,” the CEO emphasized.
Col Onata further appreciated Mr Tonny Geofrey Owana for equipping the staff with vital knowledge especially for those who did not know the historical importance of WSACCO, how and why it came into existence.
The CEO was happy that the training had clearly brought out other welfare initiatives right from the National Resistance Army (NRA) days and later UPDF that laid a foundation for the establishment of WSACCO to drive initiatives aimed at improving welfare and transforming the lives of the members of the armed forces and their families.
On behalf of the trainees, the Head Operations, Maj Julius Niragire, and Ms Scovia Tumukunde thanked Wazalendo for the opportunity given to the participants to advance their knowledge in the areas of Communication and risk management.
They pledged to serve the members much better than ever before.
The trainers included; Mr Tonny Geofrey Owana the Presidential Adviser on NRA Archives who facilitated the communication training and Mr Ssozi Joram from Uganda Institute of Bankers and Financial Services who facilitated the Risk Management training.