Jinja women tipped on access to UWEP, GROW funds
Balidawa urged communities to monitor government poverty alleviation programmes to ensure accountability and that funds reach the intended beneficiaries.
Some of the female executives of Jinja City attend the meeting. (Credit: Doreen Musingo)
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JINJA — Women in Jinja City have been urged to take advantage of government-funded empowerment programmes, including the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) and Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW), to improve their livelihoods.
"You should not undermine your potential or miss opportunities to access financial support for income-generating activities. Women aged between 18 and 60 can team up in organised groups of five and apply for the UWEP loans, while those with start-up capital can visit partnering banks for GROW funds to finance their projects", said Angela Baligeya, the Southern Division senior development officer.
She was addressing a large gathering during the induction and council sitting of the Jinja City Women Council on Tuesday, held at the Southern Division headquarters in Jinja City.
Mirembe challenged them to overcome feelings of inferiority and actively participate in economic activities, saying disability should not prevent them from accessing available opportunities.
Meanwhile, Paul Balidawa, the assistant resident city commissioner, tasked the targeted beneficiaries to monitor government poverty alleviation programmes, exposing irregularities in beneficiary selection and ensuring public funds reach the intended beneficiaries.
Balidawa directed them to also submit quarterly performance reports detailing the implementation of government programmes, challenges affecting women and the state of service delivery in their respective communities and implementation of government programmes and challenges affecting their communities.
He said the reports will be submitted to the Division Women Council before being forwarded to the City Women Council and subsequently to the district for planning and follow-up. He warned that failure to submit the reports would be considered non-performance, urging the leaders to work with LC1 and LC2 leaders, parish chiefs and community development officers to address challenges affecting residents.
"Kindly monitor the government programmes aimed at poverty alleviation. This will help give proper accountability and also ensure funds reach the rightful people in need," Balidawa said, adding that this will be achieved through working closely with parish chiefs, town agents and Parish Development Committees (PDCs).
The leaders were also urged to represent women's interests during parish council meetings and report cases of gender-based violence, domestic violence, defilement and child neglect to relevant authorities. Fauza Namilo, the Jinja City Women Council chairperson, welcomed the government's efforts to empower women through leadership but raised concerns about the lack of remuneration for grassroots women leaders.
Namilo said the leaders were burdened with community responsibilities despite receiving no salaries, arguing that they often undertook more duties than their male counterparts.
The parish women chairpersons welcomed the induction, saying it had equipped them with a better understanding of their responsibilities and pledged to apply the knowledge in their respective communities.