New Minister Sarah Kanyike promises service above political parties

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The newly appointed Minister of State for Disability and Elderly Affairs,Sarah Kanyike started work Wednesday, revealing that her philosophy of public service is to deliver services to the communities and leave a positive legacy through her tenure.

“The differences in political parties and colours come as a by the way but all that the
people want is service delivery. And that is exactly what I want us to work together to
achieve,” she noted as she assumed office at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social
Development.

Among the key programmes that Kanyike will oversee include the Expanding
Social Protection under which older persons above 80 years receive a monthly stipend of
Shs 25,000, Special Grants for Persons with Disabilities and a host of legal and policy
frameworks for the two interest groups.

Kanyike, who until recently was the Deputy Lord Mayor at Kampala Capital City
Authority, was received at the Ministry by a team of technical officials led by the Acting
Permanent Secretary,  James Ebitu, who ran her through a series of welcome rituals.

Ebitu pledged that the technical team was ready to support her in ensuring that she
delivers on the tasks assigned to her by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in fulfillment
of the social contract that the NRM government has with the People of Uganda.

He noted that the Ministry codenamed the “Ministry of the People” has a wide mandate
that covers all demographics of the population including children, youth, workers,
employers, older persons, Persons with Disabilities, cultural and traditional institutions.

He however observed that the resources allocated to the Ministry are still incomparable to
the mandate.

“One of the challenges is that some stakeholders have not fully appreciated the
importance of the mandate especially in regard to being a frontrunner in mobilization and
sensitization of the communities for the effective uptake of all Programmes under the
various sectors.” Ebitu said, adding: “the low appreciation of the mandate is mostly
manifested in the limited resource allocation for the critical activities of the Ministry and
the Social Development Sector at large.”

The minister’s office that Kanyike takes over has been vacant for over five years with
Sulaiman Kyebakoze Madada having been the last official to hold it.