Religious leaders asked to teach about government programs

RELIGION|ELDERLY|DISABLED

KAMPALA - The State Minister for Elderly and the Disabled, Sarah Kanyike has called upon religious leaders to preach to their followers about government programs that can develop their livelihood.

"Government has the National special grant for persons with disabilities however many people in this docket don't know about it," she said.

Kanyike made the remarks while paying an official visit to the Supreme Mufti Sheik Sulaiman Kasule Ndilangwa at his office in Kampala on Thursday (November 19, 2020).

Kanyike said the Mufti should encourage the PWDs within the Muslim community to form groups of five to ten people to get sh5m development funds that are nonrefundable.

"There are many people that come to the Supreme Mufti for help we can offer as the ministry. We want to partner with religious leaders to send such people to us for help," she said.

Kanyike further urged the leaders to encourage all the old people of 80 years and above to apply for the sh25,000 monthly Senior Citizens Grant (SCG) to help them live a comfortable life.

"Many people think this is little money, but many people have used it to start small businesses to sustain their lives," she said.

The 2019 - 2020 statistics by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicate only 8% of households reported that a member aged 65 years and above were receiving SAGE benefits.

Ndilangwa in his address pledged to inform the Muslim fraternity about the different development programs because many need them.

"We receive many people asking for help in line with the work the Gender ministry does, however, we have been failing to help them as we did not know what to do," he said.

He added that often, parents of youth who travel abroad approach them for help especially when they lose contact of their loved ones, however, they fail to help due to lack of ability.

He thanked government for appointing a lady for the Elderly and the Disabled ministry. 

Ndilangwa asked Kanyike to serve both the Muslim Ummah and the country diligently to foster development.

Supreme Mufti further asked government to consider lowering the age, old people get the Senior Citizens Grant (SCG) from 80 to 60 years.

"There many old people below the age of 80 that need the funds as they cannot support themselves to live a reasonable life," he said.

He prayed that Allah grants peace to all Ugandans as the country gears for the 2021 general elections.

"I pray for peace in the country especially now that we're going for elections. The security officers should be merciful by just advising people," Ndilangwa prayed.