Older persons call for universal old age pension

Elderly persons under their umbrella National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) have asked the government to implement a universal old age pension scheme across the country.
In 2011, the Senior Citizens Grant (SCG) was introduced to provide income security for those who have been left out of the country‘s formal pensions scheme. But very few are catered for, the older people say.
Currently, the programme is in its second phase and by October last year, 150,129 older persons aged 65 and above were receiving Shs25,000 per month in the 61 districts where the programme is implemented.
Speaking at a conference in Kampala on Thursday, Canon Joram Tibasiimwa, the chairman of NCOP, said there is need to have countrywide registration of older persons because it is the only way the government can be accountable for them.
“Rolling out the SCG to everyone aged 65 years will reduce the national poverty rate, boost local economies and generate additional income for entire communities,” Canon Tibasiimwa said.

Registration
Canon Tibasiimwa said majority of elder persons are not registered anywhere and they did not register to receive national identity cards because the biometric machines did not capture their thumb prints.
“To have a universal old age pension, there is need to have biometric registration specifically for elder persons because majority missed out due to existing machines which are not favorable for older persons,” he said
The acting chairperson of Uganda Equal Opportunity Commission, Ms Zaminah Malole, urged NCOP to work with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development so that every older person benefits from the pension scheme.
“Registering all elder persons across the country will enable them to access justice and legal services that are objective and easily accessible when they are victims of several cases like land grabbing and gender-based violence,” she said.
Ms Malole added that as equal opportunity commission, they are entitled to help elder persons but the considered only those registered.
“The ministry should take the responsibility to identify all the elderly person and make sure they are recorded in their respective areas because that’s the only way they can access justice from the legal institutions,” she said.
Background
About elder persons. According to the Ministry of Gender, majority of older persons live in rural areas and work mainly in the agricultural sector.
About 85 per cent of the active older persons are engaged in crop farming with not social security, rendering them highly vulnerable.
One out of six older persons live only with children under 18 years, whereas old women are two times more likely than men to live only with children.
At the age of 80, nearly 20 per cent of older women live alone, compared to only 11 per cent of older men.
About SCG. The Senior Citizens Grant programme is in its second phase and by October last year 150,129 older persons aged 65 and above were receiving Shs25,000 per month in districts where the programme is implemented. The SCG is designed to reduce old age poverty by providing a minimum level of income security to older people.