Elderly persons demand an increase on SCG funding

ELDERLY GRANTS|SCG|MINISTER

KAMPALA - The National Council for Older Persons is demanding an increase on Senior Citizen Grants (SCG) so that the elderly can benefit from the money given to them.

The Council chairperson, Joram Tibasiimwa said they proposed the current amount of sh25, 000 given out to the elderly be raised to sh100, 000 so that they come up with substantial projects to generate income for a better living.

This was, Tuesday, revealed by Tibasiimwa, during a national council meeting for the older persons with Sarah Kanyike, the new state minister for the Elderly and Disability at the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development.

SCG is money paid out to the elderly who are 80 years and above to help them create income and sustain their standard of living.

According to Tibasiimwa, SCG is received after every two months and it comes when the elderly have accumulated needs that they may come up with something tangible.

"We feel this age should be lowered to cover more people of as low as 60 years to enjoy their old age. This is because the current age bracket leaves out a bigger number of people who have boosted our economy," Tibasiimwa said.

He revealed that when people retire, they are immediately removed from the public service payroll, which he termed as abuse of rights of the elderly persons, therefore urging the minister to handle the issues of pensioners urgently.

 However, Tibasiimwa thanked Kanyike for having accepted to serve the elderly people who have been yearning for their views to be heard.

In her speech, Kanyike promised to deal and solve people's issues as presented, irrespective of one's political affiliation.

 "Once am chosen for work, I deal with it in a professional way, so my philosophy has always been to render my service in a professional way and it's what I will do," Kanyike Said.