Elderly get 7m pounds fund
Dec 15, 2008
THE UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has availed 7m pounds (about sh21b) for the elderly.
By Joel Ogwang
THE UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has availed 7m pounds (about sh21b) for the elderly.
The elderly and disabilities state minister, Suleiman Madada, said the Government was working out modalities of transferring the money.
He said sh18,000 would be disbursed monthly to Ugandans of 60 years and above by next year.
Madada said under the Elderly Fund project, a database would be formed to ease disbursement.
He said his ministry had finalised everything with DFID to transfer the funds this year.
“I sat with eight ministers to re-evaluate the funds. We sorted out all the nitty-gritty. The fund will be operationalised in 2009.â€
Madada, who also addressed the elderly in Mukono recently, blamed the rampant poverty in the countryside on extravagant lifestyles.
He said while many Ugandans engage in economically-viable enterprises, they do not invest or plough back their earnings into profitable ventures.
“When a farmer sells coffee, the first thing he/she buys is an expensive radio to ‘terrorise’ the village. In town, a person fails to pay-sh50,000 in rent, yet parts with sh20,000 for a disco do! You can’t prosper this way,†Madada explained.
The elderly had asked the Government to start a programme to take care of them in their last days on earth.
THE UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has availed 7m pounds (about sh21b) for the elderly.
The elderly and disabilities state minister, Suleiman Madada, said the Government was working out modalities of transferring the money.
He said sh18,000 would be disbursed monthly to Ugandans of 60 years and above by next year.
Madada said under the Elderly Fund project, a database would be formed to ease disbursement.
He said his ministry had finalised everything with DFID to transfer the funds this year.
“I sat with eight ministers to re-evaluate the funds. We sorted out all the nitty-gritty. The fund will be operationalised in 2009.â€
Madada, who also addressed the elderly in Mukono recently, blamed the rampant poverty in the countryside on extravagant lifestyles.
He said while many Ugandans engage in economically-viable enterprises, they do not invest or plough back their earnings into profitable ventures.
“When a farmer sells coffee, the first thing he/she buys is an expensive radio to ‘terrorise’ the village. In town, a person fails to pay-sh50,000 in rent, yet parts with sh20,000 for a disco do! You can’t prosper this way,†Madada explained.
The elderly had asked the Government to start a programme to take care of them in their last days on earth.