Govt releases sh840m for cultural leaders

Apr 25, 2019

Government through the gender ministry, will continue to support the strengthening of cultural institutions

The government has released sh840m for traditional and cultural leaders across the country.

According to Benon Kigenyi, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, out of the sh840m, each of the 14 culture leaders in the country that accepted to be supported, will receive a salary of sh60m annually.

"As the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government pledged under the 2016-21 manifesto, the government continues to give financial support to individual cultural leaders. This year, we have released sh60m to each of the 14 cultural/ traditional leaders," Kigenyi said, explaining that the money is released annually.

Kigenyi, who was on Wednesday giving accountability of the implementation of the manifesto, at the Office of the President, said the money is supposed to cater for 15 cultural and traditional leaders in the country but one cultural institution, Buganda Kingdom, which refused the sh60m annual salary for the Kabaka.

The manifesto review was organised by the head of the Manifesto Implementation Unit, Willis Bashaasha.

Kigenyi told political leaders within the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area that the government, through the gender ministry, will continue to support the strengthening of cultural institutions.

"The Uganda National Culture Forum has been formed and the Kings' Forum is now established. We shall continue to support cultural institutions as custodians of heritage to play an effective role in giving the different people their unique identity," Kigenyi said.

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