Kabarole Older Persons Petition Speaker Kadaga over Parliamentary Representation

By Steven Ainganiza

Over 2000 older persons in Kabarole district have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga demanding representation in parliament and equal distribution of the Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE) funds.

The older persons handed over their petition to the Speaker of Parliament during official launch of the Kabarole district Elders SACCO at the District Headquarters in Kitumba on Saturday.  In the petition handed over by Amos Manyiraho the Chairperson Kabarole Elders Council, the older persons said they should also have a representative in parliament to table their interests, as it is for other special interest groups like workers, people with disabilities and youth whose interests and views are well represented in parliament.

The elderly also asked that the SAGE scheme be rolled out in all the districts and should benefit all elder persons above 60years. Government at the end of 2018 committed to a national rollout of the SAGE programme targeting older persons aged 80 years and above. This was to be effected in the financial year 2019/20. However, this was not mentioned by the Finance Minister and subsequently in the President’s address.

Receiving the petition, Kadaga observed that the petition contained pertinent issues such as elderly representation in parliament and discrimination in SAGE funds disbursement, which government had neglected. The speaker said she had been energized, and would be at the forefront to push for more reforms and policies for the benefit of the vulnerable population.