Post bank to manage elderly funds

The ministry of Gender, Labour and Social development on Thursday signed a contract with Post Bank Uganda as the new payment service provider for the senior citizens grants, paid to older persons under the social assistance grants for empowerment (SAGE).

Post Bank will take over the payment service provider role from MTN, which executed it through its MTN Mobile Money since the programmes pilot in 2010.

Pius Bigirimana, the permanent secretary at the gender, labour and social development ministry, said: "I congratulate Post Bank for coming out as winner of this bid. The ministry (of gender, labour and social development) together with our development partners UKaid/DFID and the Irish Aid, selected PostBank Uganda through an elaborate and rigorous competitive bidding procurement process."

He said the evaluation team was particularly interested in the feasibility and reliability of the proposed payment methods by the bidders. Before, long distance beneficiaries would have to travel long distances to receive their payments.

Under the SAGE scheme, implemented under the gender ministry's expanding social protection programme, government provides monthly grants of 25000 to older persons (65 years and above, 60 years for the case of Karamoja) to enable them to access basic services and to start income generating activities.

Stephen Mukweli, the Post Bank Uganda managing director, said: "We are glad to be named new payment service provider for the senior Citizens Grants. Post Bank prides itself in empowering people. Therefore this milestone is at the heart of our values.

Government announced in August 2015 a phased national rollout of the Senior Citizens grant to an additional 40 districts over the next five years and earmarked sh149b for the programme.

The rollout will start with 20 districts in the 2015/2016 financial year. Subsequently five new districts will be added every year till the 2019/2020 financial year, Simon Omoding, the communications manager at the ministry's expanding social protection programme, said.

He said they are targeting 100 beneficiaries per sub-county in the new 20 districts. Over 123, 000 elderly have benefited from the programme since inception in 2010.