Government expands SAGE to 81 districts

The government has increased the number of elders to benefit from the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) from 167,000 to 220,000, according to the Managing Director, Post Bank Uganda, Julius Kakeeto.

He made the revelation during the launch of SAGE on Women's Day in Mbale. Post Bank is the bank in charge of disbursing the grants to elders in the country.

President Yoweri Museveni graced the launch at Malukhu grounds.

Museveni said aside from government initiatives such as Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) that is intended to economically empower women, they have gone ahead to assist older persons in various districts by extending initiatives like SAGE to improve their livelihood.

He also warned men against beating their wives, saying, "I have been married to Janet for 49 years, but I have never pushed her."

According to Kakeeto, the program has been in 67 districts, and with the addition of 14 districts to the SAGE initiative, the figure of beneficiaries rises to 220,000 covering 81 districts in Uganda.

"We have been paying 167,000 elderly through our network of 44 branches and mobile vans. With the mobile vans, we can reach parishes, the elderly do not have to move long distances to find service points for retrieving their funds."

SAGE was started in 2016 as an initiative to reduce poverty amongst the elderly who have a low productivity and can barely go to work. The program aims to benefit elderly persons who are 80 years and above.

They are entitled to receive shs25,000 per month after registering with the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MGLSD) and acquiring a valid national identification card.