Economists want gov’t to review social welfare financing

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Economists have called for a review of the different social welfare programmes designed by the government to ensure that they transform the targeted beneficiaries. Some of the programmes highlighted for a possible review include the Youth Livelihood Program, Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme.

The Youth Livelihood Program and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme are revolving funds extended to different groups in form of startup capital loans and grants. SAGE, on the other hand, is a welfare program where the elderly are given a monthly allowance of 25,000 Shillings.

But different economists believe that the programs are not addressing the needs of the people and have instead become money draining funds with no viable impact.

Dr Fred Muhumuza, a former Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance says that the programs need to be rethought before approval of the budget for the next financial year. He suggests for instance, that the amount of money given to senior citizens under the SAGE program be increased to match the poverty line index.

Margaret Kakande, the head of the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit in the Ministry of Finance acknowledges that although the programmes are good for the citizenry, their implementation is poor and not well thought out.

She says that the programs need to be revised to put more emphasis on empowering Ugandans so that they can be independent at a certain point instead of continuously receiving assistance. Kakande adds that unless the government goes back to the drawing board, the programs will not work.

Kakande adds that the government needs to study the cost of implementing the programs and ensure value for money. According to Kakande, the amount of money spent implementing the program is much more than what is given out.

Kakande suggests the reduction of administration costs as one of the ways government can use to increase the effectiveness of the programs. She says funds used on administrative costs need to be cut down.

Last year, the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social development revealed that it was planning to increase the age at which people can access the funds from the current 65 to at least 85. Data shows that more than 57 billion Shillings has been invested in the SAGE program.