Older people above the age of 80 in 71 districts of Uganda are smiling all the way home after the government released 26.92 billion Shillings to pay for their monthly allowances including arrears totaling to six months.
Each of the beneficiaries is entitled to 150,000 shillings covering the period between January and June this year, which accumulated due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At least 190,000 beneficiaries in 71 districts have been brought on board and the payment is ongoing.
Stephen Kasaija, head of the Expanding Social Protection (ESP) program, where the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) falls stated that President Yoweri Museveni in March this year launched the Senior Citizens Grant scheme to pay all Ugandans above the age of 80 a monthly allowance of 25,000 shillings payable every two months.
He said the payment was supposed to start in January including in 71 districts, which had not been part of the 64 districts that had been receiving allowances for older people above the age of 65 and 60 in Karamoja region, which was halted because of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money accumulated to six months but the same beneficiaries will again receive 50,000 shillings in August covering two months.
The ministry of gender, labour and social development, according to Kasaija, embarked on the program after the National Taskforce on COVID-19 approved the Standard Operational Procedures that are being followed to pay the beneficiaries.
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