Involve local leaders in Covid cash - City mayors
A man counts money. A section of Ugandans, including the targeted vulnerable groups , have expressed reservations with the government’s criteria on choosing beneficiaries for Covid relief cash. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Mayors argue that local leaders know all the groups of people living in their constituencies hence it would be easy for them to identify the vulnerable category.
Kampala City mayors have advised the government to involve local leaders in the identification of vulnerable people to avoid cases of forgery, which might alienate many Ugandans from receiving Covid-19 cash.
Mayors argue that local leaders know all the groups of people living in their constituencies hence it would be easy for them to identify the vulnerable category.
The Kawempe Division mayor, Mr Emmanuel Sserunjogi, said government’s plan to use town clerks might not be effective because the latter’s interaction with vulnerable groups in communities is minimal.
“You cannot use the town clerk in identification of vulnerable people in communities because they do not know exactly who is vulnerable. They can be involved in the process but should be allowed to work with local leaders who understand different groups of people in their areas. We are not doing politics but are worried that our people could miss out if proper people aren’t used in the identification process,” Mr Sserunjogi said.
Government recently announced that it would distribute Shs54b among vulnerable people with each targeted household getting Shs100, 000.
Boda bodas are among the categories eligible to receive Covid cash. PHOTO/FILE
Although the Minister of Gender, Ms Betty Amongi, last week said Cabinet had used data from Uganda Bureau of Standards (Ubos) to identify vulnerable people, officials from Ubos disowned the list, saying they can only get the list using primary data collection with the help of local council chairpersons.
According to the list, only 157,474 people would benefit.
Mr Sserunjogi said with 60 per cent of people living in slums, the number of vulnerable people could be higher than what government reported.
The Makindye Division mayor, Mr Ali Mulyanyama Nganda, warned the government against rushing to identify the vulnerable without carrying out a ground assessment.
“Majority of our people in the city missed out on the relief food during the first lockdown because there was no coordination between government and local leaders. We do not want a repeat of the same ,” he said.
He urged government to expedite the process of giving out money.
