Fort Portal City
The government is extending the deadline for data collection for people supposed to benefit from COVID-19 relief cash.
Although the distribution of money was initially scheduled to end on Wednesday, the Minister for Gender, Labor and Social Development, Betty Amongi, told journalists that only 14 billion of the planned 53 billion Shillings had been sent out to the vulnerable populations in municipalities and cities.
She said data of only 75 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries has been uploaded on the database housed at the National Information Technology Authority- Uganda. She added that while they target to reach 501,107 people, they have so far paid only 143,642 beneficiaries.
So far she said, men, have been the biggest beneficiaries of the relief fund at 53 per cent. But no one has been paid from Fort Portal city, Koboko and Iganga municipalities. Amongi says the town clerks of these areas have not submitted supportive documents to show the authenticity of their data and payment cannot be made.
In terms of job specifications, bodaboda cyclists have been the biggest beneficiaries at 14.8 per cent, followed by saloon attendants and teachers in private schools at 12 per cent. Traffic guides, touts, vehicle loaders, special hire drivers and bouncers have been the least covered so far.
When it comes to Kampala city where sections have already complained, Martin Wandera, the Commissioner in Charge of Labor at the Gender Ministry says only Kampala central division has fully submitted their data.
He said that Kawempe division is among the trailing areas in the whole country coming only after Mityana at 14per cent with only 29 per cent of their expected data submitted so far. Nakawa division has submitted 46 per cent of their data, Makindye Division 19 per cent and Rubaga Division 54 per cent .
Earlier, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja had revealed that they would be sending out vouchers to vulnerable groups that don’t have phone numbers registered in their names. But Amongi says this has been revised to give them payslip for money they will receive from their specific municipality offices.
However, the data collected so far haven’t passed the requirements for receiving the funds and their details have been thrown out of the system. Amongi explains that these either had telephone numbers that don’t match their National Identification Numbers (NIN) or they submitted phones numbers that are totally out of service or not registered on mobile money.
