Covid-19 cash transfer is a good plan

The Covid-19 pandemic erupted in late 2019, affecting the entire world. It was projected to have an especially negative impact on Uganda’s poor and vulnerable households. This effect did occur, with an estimated 1.8 million inhabitants, mostly in urban areas, being pushed into poverty and vulnerability.

 Since the outbreak, the government has mandated lockdowns to prevent the virus from spreading. While the lockdown measures were necessary to stop the spread of the virus, which is a public health emergency, they had unintended repercussions for the many people whose livelihoods were disrupted. 

 The first lockdown resulted in the temporary closure of enterprises, which impacted millions of Ugandans who rely on them for employment. According to the UNDP, the pandemic would directly harm the livelihoods of more than 60 per cent of those employed in industry and services, with close to 90 per cent of those in urban areas relying on these two sectors.
 The Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) also revealed that Covid-19 containment measures resulted in increased operating costs for nine out of 10 small and medium businesses, leaving them unable to cope. The EPRC predicted that 3.8 million people would lose their jobs temporarily, with 625,957 losing their jobs permanently.

 In addition, the pandemic has serious implications for food security. According to a survey conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) on the consumer price index (CPI) for the month of April, food costs increased by up to 4.8 per cent, particularly for staple goods. Maize prices, in particular, surged from 32.2 per cent in March 2019 to 37.0 per cent in April 2020. 
 Gender disparities have widened as a result of the pandemic. To maintain their families, women and children are increasingly being driven into dangerous and exploitative jobs. On Saturday, a local TV showed a documentary on girls in Kasese District who were trading sex in exchange for sanitary pads. 

 Uganda has long provided social assistance to the poor through the Senior Citizen Grant, a no-strings-attached cash transfer that is available to all people aged 80 and up. When the Covid-19 pandemic became a national concern, President Museveni had just launched a national rollout of the SCG to all districts in the country on March 8, 2020.
As the country faces the second wave, the government through the Office of the Prime Minister stated that they would offer relief package for the vulnerable poor through mobile money. This is applaudable. However, it raises a number of questions about the programme’s feasibility, selection criteria, and whether or not it will be implemented, given how posho and beans distribution were mismanaged in the first wave. 

 The consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic will last a long time. Vaccination efforts have begun, giving everyone newfound optimism. Mid and long-term actions to combat rising poverty levels and greater vulnerability will be critical to ensuring that we can recover more quickly from the crisis.
                         Ivan Mungungeyo,                    [email protected]