Speaker Oboth Brokers Bank of Uganda (BOU)-Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) Licensing Stand-Off

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth has brokered a solution to a stand-off between the Bank of Uganda (BOU) and Uganda Co-operative Savings and Credit Union Limited (UCSCU) over SACCO licensing requirements. Oboth directed the Ministry of Finance to begin drafting an amendment to the law governing SACCOs, while allowing institutions more time to comply with BOU licensing requirements. The agreement was reached during a meeting in Parliament on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, attended by BOU Governor Michael Atingi-Ego, cooperative leaders and officials from the Ministries of Finance and Trade. The meeting followed a UCSCU petition over a BOU directive requiring large SACCOs to apply for licences by 30 September 2026. BOU had warned that SACCOs that failed to obtain licences by 1 October 2026 would be cut off from the commercial banking system, including access to bank deposits and mobile money transactions. Atingi-Ego said BOU was enforcing the law under the Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institutions Act and the 2023 regulations. “This matter got to President Yoweri Museveni and a few things were agreed upon. But the law is clear. If we do not adhere to the deadline, the country