The laws we operate under

The society's own constitution, adopted by the members and registered with the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Everything else on this page is national law. This is the part the membership wrote for itself, and the part the membership can amend.

Who may join

A member must be over 12 years of age, though nobody may be elected to the committee before 18. They must be of good character, must do business with the society, and must sign a declaration attested by two witnesses. Every member names a person to inherit their share on death, and the committee must pay that nominee within one year.

Shares and funds

Every member holds a minimum number of shares, paid for in full on application. No member may hold more than one third of the total shares, and non-members may hold none at all. The funds of the society come from entrance fees, shares, member deposits, deposits and loans from non-members, the reserve fund and trading surplus. A share transfer fund is maintained out of surplus, capped at five per cent of share capital.

Discipline, disputes and dissolution

Membership ends on death, on withdrawal after notice provided the member is not indebted and has belonged for at least a year, or on expulsion. The committee may suspend a member convicted of dishonesty or acting against the interest of the society, but must report it to the next general meeting, which alone may remove or reinstate. Disputes the committee and the general meeting cannot settle go to an arbitrator under section 73 of the Act. The society may be dissolved only as the Regulations prescribe.

Registered No. 11133/RCS, Kampala District, certified as a true copy by Joseph William Kitandwe, Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Made under the Co-operative Societies Act Cap 112 and the Co-operative Societies Regulations 1993, and running to 57 clauses. The copy published here is the complete certified file, so it also carries the original application for registration and the schedule of founding members bound in front of the rules.

Read the Bye-Laws in full (PDF, 5 MB)

This is a large scanned file. Everything above summarises what it contains, so you do not need to open it to know what the rules say. A copy is also kept at every branch.

The document by which NECOS exists. It certifies that the society and its by-laws were registered under section 6(2) of the Co-operative Societies Act, Cap 112, which is the principal law governing a registered co-operative in Uganda.

Certificate No. 11133/RCS. Issued on 4 September 2019 by Joseph William Kitandwe, Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Published here as a certified true copy.

View the certificate (PDF, 440 KB)

The law that governs savings and credit co-operatives in Uganda. It created the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority, sets out how a SACCO is licensed and supervised, and defines the standards a society is held to when it holds members' savings.

Act 18 of 2016. Published in the Uganda Gazette No. 75, Volume CIX, on 28 October 2016.

Read the Act (PDF, 115 KB)

Rules made by the Bank of Uganda for registered societies once they grow past a set size. They cover licensing, minimum capital, liquidity, credit limits, the classification of loans and annual reporting. They apply to a society whose voluntary savings pass UGX 1.5 billion and whose institutional capital passes UGX 500 million.

Statutory Instrument 2023 No. 54, made under section 89 of the Micro-Finance Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2003. Published in the Uganda Gazette No. 37, Volume CXVI, on 2 June 2023.

Read the Regulations (PDF, 547 KB)