Minister urges Ugandans to produce 3 children

By Darious Magara     

THE second Deputy Prime minister has proposed that parents who are still productive should produce a maximum of three to four children that they can ably care for to cope with the toughening economic times.

Henry Muganwa Kajura, who is also the public service minister, wonders how parents who have produced more than four children will look after them.

“Where will they educate them and how will they provide for their necessities especially education and health?” Kajura asked.

The minister made the remarks while receiving a draft report of the inter-ministerial task force of the public service pension reform. Kajura lamented that many Ugandans lack work ethics.
 

Kajura receiving a report. Photo by Francis Emorut

He urged the media to spread the gospel of productivity among the populace instead of keep the notion that government will provide for them.

“Please media teach our people to creating jobs and wealth by being productive in the private sector using the environment that government has created for them” Kajura added.

“What can government provide for the people; all these graduates that universities are producing, will they be productive and useful to the economy if they cannot create their own jobs?” he asked.

He said that government was making great efforts to solve problems of lower electricity supply and build other infrastructure to propel development.  

According to the task force chairperson Stephen Kiwanuka, the Public Service Pension Scheme(PSPS) was a proposal developed by the public service and they started work in September last year.

The task force comprised of stakeholders from various government ministries and consulted workers unions and other stakeholders.

Kiwanuka said task force recommendation was that the government establishes a Public Service Pension scheme as a separate entity with a clear reporting structure and well defined responsibilities.

He also said government should introduce a contributory pension scheme with a 15% contribution; 10% by the employer and 5%by the employee with effect from 1st July 2013 starting with parametric reforms of the scheme.

The task force also recommended that the health insurance will be an integral part of the PSPS. The government should also meet the startup cost of the fund for at least 3years until the PSPS attains stability.