ITAU starts SACCO and Bonafide Membership subscription, 2019 ICT Teachers National Capacity Development Workshop date set

ITAU Executives during the meeting

A physical ITAU executive meeting involving 20 representatives of ICT Teachers from all regions of Uganda was convened on Women’s Day 8th March 2019 at St Luke’s Restaurant, Mulago – Kampala. Members from as far as West Nile (Northern Uganda close to Uganda – South Sudan Border) to as far as Kisoro (Western Uganda close to the Uganda – Rwanda Border) boarded night buses  and sacrificed their personal finances and time for the noble cause of standing together against computer illiteracy through advancing ITAU and its objectives.

This meeting was a special, historical and first of its kind since the inception of the ICT Teachers Association of Uganda last year – during the meeting, the executives reached a number of key resolutions which are going to elevate ITAU to another level as highlighted below:

Separation of ITAU SACCO Membership and ITAU Bonafide Membership

The members observed that these two ITAU programs should not be mixed up and should remain optional for members to join at free choice. The members went ahead to discuss each and set guidelines on how members can join.

ITAU Bonafide Membership

According to the ITAU Constitution, there are many types of membership, among which include Ordinary Membership and Bonafide Membership.

  • Ordinary membership is free and open to all ICT and Computer Studies teachers in Uganda – all they need to do is to register, join the network of the association and participate in the general programs of the association like the workshops, forums, etc.
  • Bonafide Membership is upon payment of an annual subscription fee. During the meeting, the members agreed upon an annual fee of UGX 5,000 (Five thousand Uganda shillings only) for bonafide membership. Bonafide membership comes with a number of additional benefits, which include:
    • Having higher rights as enshrined in the constitution, hold the executives to account for any ITAU programs / activities, propose amendments, move a vote of no confidence as per section 5.5 of the constitution, etc.
    • Getting publishing rights on the ITAU website (enabling them to to post articles, events, resources, etc).
    • Getting an @ictteachersug.net email address (upon request)
    • Being added to a special bonafides mailing list and / or WhatsApp group
    • Getting access to special ITAU resources for bonafides
    • Advertising and selling items through the website and ITAU mailing list and social media forums
    • Special consideration / free entry to some ITAU professional development programs/ activities such as workshops, meetups which will be organised from time to time in different regions across the country.
    • Special recognition and listing as a bonafide member in the ITAU records / website.
    • Having a verified profile page on ITAU Website.

ITAU SACCO Membership

The ITAU SACCO is one of the projects of ITAU which members can choose to join. According to Article 2 section 1 (12) of the ITAU Constitution, the objective of the SACCO is to help the members access financial services which can simplify the acquisition of assets necessary for their work, such as laptops.

The ITAU Executive also hopes to approach several donors and partners for financial support through this ICT Teachers SACCO.

During the meeting, the members debated extensively on this topic and many shared their experiences from other SACCOs. In the end, it was resolved as follows:

  • The ITAU SACCO membership fee be set at a onetime fee of only UGX 10,000 (Ten Thousand Uganda Shillings Only).
  • That besides paying membership fees, an applicant shall buy at least one share in order to be admitted as a SACCO member, in line with Chapter 3 Article 17 (c) of the Uganda SACCO bylaws.
  • That the value of each share be set at UGX 20,000 (Twenty Thousand Uganda Shillings Only).

Subject to the Cooperatives Act enacted by parliament of Uganda and the registered bylaws, a SACCO member shall enjoy rights as follows:

  • Access Savings, deposits and related services which earning competitive rates of interest.
  • Access to Loan services as guided by the regulations, policies, standards, best practices and procedures of the SACCO.
  • Any other necessary legally authorised and economically feasible financial services which will be available to the SACCO from time to time.
  • All SACCO members shall receive periodic and on request, statements of accounts.
  • Members shall be free to buy more shares, provided that no member shall hold more than one third of the total share capital.

To fulfil these obligations, the SACCO may develop, promote and implement the following activities:

  • Open up an official bank account and pool resources from various sources as listed in Article 6 of the SACCO by laws (including any funds that lack an express condition from Donors, Membership fees, Deposits/Shares by members, External Loans obtained in accordance with the Act and the Regulations, etc.
  • Credit programs and services based on borrower’s repayment capacity.
  • Joint financial programs and services with other entities with similar objectives.
  • Any other projects economically feasible projects like ITAU T-shirts, Workshops, etc for the sustainability of the SACCO but also for the mutual benefit of the members in line with the general objectives of the Association.

SACCO Registration

According to the checklist of the requirements which were obtained from the ministry of cooperatives, a SACCO has to first get atleast 30 pioneer paid-up members before it can be registered. Below is the checklist of requirements ITAU seeks to obtain for its registration.

Checklist of requirements for registering a SACCO with ministry of Cooperatives.
  • It was noted that we needed to start collecting membership fee plus 1 share (i.e a total of UGX 30,000), for the initial pioneer 30 members required. After collecting the 30×30,000 (ie a sum of UGX900,000), that’s when it will be possible to finalize the registration of the SACCO, open up its joint bank account and then bank all the money.
  • So far, a total of 22 members have signed the SACCO book and committeed them selves to be among the pioneers, as shown below:

Collecting membership and share payments from the SACCO pioneers

  • Members proposed three alternative options for money collections and subscriptions from the pioneers:
    • Telling members to manually send money through the National Treasurers / Coordinators number.
    • Integrating automated online mobile money payments through the ITAU website.
    • Contacting Airtel for the Airtel Weza service in which a group mobile money account is created which requires 3 people with three PINS who must all approve of any transaction.
  • For option (1) two members were appointed to receive the SACCO collections for the meantime: the National Treasurer- Ms. Nambone Jackline at 0755395320 assisted by the National Coordinator – Mr. Mukalele Rogers at 0776960740/ 0706060740.
  • Option (2) is already enabled on the ITAU website and the procedures are laid out on the bonafides membership and SACCO membership payment pages. Members are encouraged to use this method as it automatically captures the paid-up members’ records within the dashboard which can be easily be tracked by the admins.
  • For Option (3), we have since contacted Airtel but they told us that the Airtel Weza service is no longer available.

For group authentication and security of SACCO funds, we set up a mechanism such that no one can withdraw the funds without other admins approval… We changed the payout pin such that only the chairperson knows it, but he does not stay with the mobile money simcard attached to the system. The payout simcard is with the coordinator to keep members updated but he can not withdraw any funds because he doesn’t know the PIN. Other admins on iccteachersug.net, once they login they can all see the records of payments and the balance at any time but can not withdraw either as a safeguard for now until a time when we shall open a bank account and bank all the money.

National Chairperson and Coordinator setting up and testing the online payment gateway on the ITAU website to be used for collecting payments securely.
Signatures of members who have so far signed the SACCO book. We need atleast 30 pioneers in order to proceed with SACCO registration.

Update on National Capacity Development Workshop 2019

  • On the 2019 national capacity development workshop, members agreed that all national capacity workshops should be held in Kampala, being the capital city which is the central place for members from all regions. Regional workshops can be considered in future.
  • Members suggested that workshop facilitators should be secondary school teachers since they have experience and also cut on the costs facilitating other persons.
  • Mr. Bizimaana Diaz Robert- Secretary for Events, activities and Projects pledged 100,000= towards the organization of the coming capacity development workshop.
  • It was agreed upon that all secretaries for projects and activities should spearhead in the planning and organizing workshops both at regional and national workshops and seminars.
  • We have since approached the headteacher Kololo SS (the national in-service training center) and he has given us to organise the two day capacity development workshop starting on Monday 6th May 2019 at 8:00 am to Tuesday 7th May 2019 at 4:00 pm. 
  • This year’s capacity development workshop will focus on empowering the ICT Teachers to effectively manage school computer laboratories (including computer maintenance) and improving curriculum delivery in commonly challenging topics like programming, website design and advanced word processing. It will also be a networking opportunity for sharing resources, experiences and skills for effective, innovative and professional methods of work.
  • The workshop fee is UGX 50,000 for non-residents or UGX 60,000 for residents. This fee is to cater for facilitation, materials, meals (breakfast, lunch and supper) and accommodation for the two days.
  • Teachers are requested to confirm their participation by registering through the link cdw.ictteachersug.net for proper planning.
  • Download Workshop Invitation Letter here:
[PDF] Invitation Letter ITAU Capacity Development Workshop 2019 (1277 downloads )

AOB: WordCamp and other ongoing ITAU programs

  • Members were encouraged to take part in wordcamps especially the coming camp at Nkumba University on the 30th and 31th March 2019. Currently, more than 30 ITAU members have finished confirming and paying for their wordcamp tickets. Members were encouraged to take part in wordcamps especially the coming camp at Nkumba University on the 30th and 31th March 2019.
  • ITAU Patron – It was communicated that the chairperson was engaging some officials in the docket of ICT at the ministry of education and sports and also at UCC and detailed communication would be made when the patron is confirmed.
  • Students’ seminars: A member suggested that for this year ITAU should concentrate on the SACCO and teachers workshops at the national level, but regional committees were encouraged to go ahead, work with some schools to host students seminars.
  • Members were requested to write more articles for the ITAU website.
  • Every member was urged to participate in spreading the gospel of ITAU and sell out ideas to different schools through products for example mock examinations and tests.
  • Members were argued to extend IT services to other teachers.
  • Mr. Dumba Stephen promised to send bulk SMS to Head teachers and teachers after getting valid telephone contacts from regional chairpersons.
  • The vice chairperson thanked everyone for their patience and wished everyone journey mercies back to their homes and work places. The meeting ended at 4:48pm.
  • Download Detailed minutes below:
Minutes of ITAU Executive Meeting March 2018 (114 downloads )
ITAU Executive Meeting Group Photo 8th March 2019
ITAU Executive Meeting Group Photo 8th March 2019