Media Gallery - INAUGURATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE INCORPORATION OF A MICRO-FINANCE BANK IN UBIUM
Posted: January 19, 2019
ADDRESS BY NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF UBIUM DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION IN USA (UDA) ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE INCORPORATION OF A MICRO-FINANCE BANK IN UBIUM
It is an honor to address the distinguished guests and members of the committee on the incorporation of a micro-finance bank in Ubium.
I do so in my capacity as the National President of Ubium Development Association in USA (UDA), consistent with (Article VII, Section I of the Association’s constitution) my responsibility for planning, coordinating, and executing the programs and activities of UDA in accordance with its goal and mission.
In 2015, UDA introduced and launched the first phase of the Ubium Community Empowerment Program (UCEP). We did so after extensive meetings and consultations with our chiefs, elders, and local leaders to explain the purpose and benefits of that community development initiative.
The objective of the first phase of UCEP was to facilitate socio-economic development in Ubium rural areas and thereby improve the overall standard of living through individual and community partnership under the auspices of a Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC was set up to provide local supervision under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Etuk Idem.
The first phase of UCEP was intended to provide initial business investment support for individuals, groups, and families, who were considered too poor and ineligible for loans from other sources of funds. It was done in partnership with Gufax Bank. Despite the modest success of first phase of UCEP, we are aware of areas for improvement, notably constraints to borrowing, limited access to the partnership bank, and lack of control by the borrowers and the target community. The second phase of UCEP will be launched in October 2019 to address the observed shortcomings, expand the scope, and consolidate on the gains of the first phase of the program.
Today’s event, which marks the formal inauguration of the Committee on Ubium Micro-Finance Bank (COUMFB), will allow for our community to participate actively in the planning and establishment of a micro-finance bank they can call their own, and which will allow them to invest and reap the benefit of their investments.
According to UDA’s Constitution and Bye-Laws (Section IV), the association shall have standing/or Ad-hoc Committees to deal with matters and issues as the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and National Council may see fit to create.
The establishment and constitution of COUMFB was, therefore, done with the consent an authorization of the National Council of the UDA and in consultation with the leadership of CAC in accordance with provisions of our constitution.
The Committee comprises distinguished sons and daughter of Ubium who have distinguished themselves in their various areas of professional calling. They have been selected on the basis of their experience, unique abilities, and other outstanding qualities, as well as interest in community development and aptitude for selfless service.
The Committee’s terms of reference have already been communicated to the distinguished members through the instrument that set up the committee, and bears no repetition here.
I have no misgivings about your individual abilities as a member of the Committee. I expect you to exercise good judgement and to perform your assignment to the utmost of your ability with diligence and respect for one another.
Aware of concerns and misgivings regarding this project, which I sincerely appreciate, my response is that we will never solve the problems of our people if we walk away from or ignore them. Even worse, our individual successes, although important, mean nothing if the bulk of our people continue to live in abject poverty without the means to break the cycle that denies them and their children decent living or the opportunity to get ahead.
To reach that goal, you must, therefore, remain undaunted. You must consider and recommend ways for changing the mindset of our people through this project and making it a success. You must also come up with a model that is unique to our way of doing things and will address inherent obstacles and challenges.
Your recommendations must offer a pathway to financial sustainability and strategies to achieve social impact. I implore you to consult widely with existing MFBs, address how approved services of the proposed bank will be provided, and recommend ways to provide small loans to households who may be too poor to quality if only to break the cycle of poverty which feeds their fatalistic attitude.
The expectation is not to lend directly to the poor clients as individuals but through such joint liability groups as a church, cooperative society, women or youth groups with substantial deposit in the bank, held as collateral. That way, in the event of loan repayment default, the bank can recover its money without going the way less prudently managed banks have gone.
You are undertaking an ambitious project, which will need practical help from our other highly esteemed and respected leaders like you. Feel free to seek their views and input. Whatever may be your preferred model of a micro-finance bank, your recommendations should encourage savings and award of loan facilities to micro and small business owners and individuals for expansion of their businesses.
I congratulate you on your merited appointment, and offer you my best wishes for success. Thank you for accepting the call to serve.
I thank our Honorable Commissioner, Arc. Ime Ekpo, for his presence, and invite him to inaugurate the Committee.
January 19, 2019
New York