Govt sets rules for labour intensive public projects
What you need to know:
- Reason. The rules are meant to halt uncoordinated operations.
Kampala.
Government has set guidelines on the implementation of labour intensive public works in a move to increase productivity and improve livelihoods of people in the rural and peri-urban areas.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), Mr Pius Bigirimana, said that the move is one of the interventions for supporting vulnerable and poor households with labour capacity to effectively cope with medium- to long-term shocks.
“With the guidelines, we are halting uncoordinated implementation of programmes identified under social protection to avoid duplication which leads to corruption. This is a frontline for promoting transparency and service delivery in the country,” he said.
While presiding over the launch of the National Guidelines for the planning and implementation of Labour Intensive Public Works Programmes in Kampala on Tuesday, Mr Bigirimana said; “All development workers under social protection will be required to declare their public works to create harmony.”
Labour intensive public works, according to Mr Bigirimana, include temporary works such as community roads, bridges, construction of schools and health centres, among other social amenities.
The MGLSD in partnership with other ministries and agencies formulated the National Social Protection Policy which identifies Labour intensive public works as one of the priority social protection interventions under direct income support component.
The director of social protection in MGLSD, Dr James Ebitu said public works programmes are the second largest category of direct income support programme with around 40 per cent of all beneficiaries.
“While a range of public works programmes have been and are being implemented in Uganda benefiting over 500,000 Ugandans especially in the North-East of Uganda.
Assessments carried out by various stakeholders revealed the programmes were being implemented in different parts of the country with little coordination and guidance,” he said.
Objective of the guidelines
Dr Ebitu said the purpose of the Labour intensive public works programme is to supplement the transfer by supporting resilience-building and improved livelihoods for the entire community through a comprehensive and integrated development.
Labour intensive public works programmes can engage local communities in short-term employment to increase the productivity and lead to improved livelihoods of the population.
