By Alex Gahima
More 560 million Ugandan shillings is being demanded for by the elderly in Kisoro district who registered with the Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE) that failed to provide the funds during the two year period of Covid-19 Lockdown.
Senior Community Development Officer in charge of SAGE Christopher Mugisha says Kisoro district has more than 2,500 elderly persons who were registered to benefit from the Government program.
SAGE is a social transformation Programme in which Government transfers Cash targeting the elderly above 80 years. The money is meant to help them meet their basic needs.
Mugisha says each beneficiary is meant to get at least 75,000 Ugandan shillings for three months which is paid once at the end of the quarter, amounting to 225,000 Ugandan shillings.
According to Mugisha, SAGE beneficiaries in Kisoro district did not receive any money during the entire Covid-19 Lockdown period that lasted two years.
“At the time Government was very clear on the importance of not having Ugandans gathering in large numbers and so it because practically impossible to give these old people any money during that time”, Mugisha explained
He further points out that during the lockdown, a survey was conducting revealing that Bufumbira South Constituency has the most elderly persons in the entire district.
Mugisha says Government is preparing to release the funds that should have been paid back then.
He noted that a new campaign has begun requiring more elder persons in the district to register with their Community development officers.
According to Mugisha, all elder persons who were born in 1942, have a national identity card are eligible to benefit from the Government program.
He however noted that verification of National Identification Numbers (NIN) needs to be handled very smoothly both in Kisoro and at the headquarters in Kampala to avoid people losing out on the much needed money.
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