A move by the Government to move funds under the Uganda Women Empowerment Project-UWEP to finance the Parish Development Model-PDM has hit a snag after lawmakers rejected it.
Established in 2016, UWEP has been an affirmative action involving revolving funds to empower women to improve their income levels to spur economic development. The project beneficiaries include unemployed women, women with disabilities, and widows among others.
A total of 29.2 billion out of the UWEP budget of 32 billion had been transferred from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development leaving 2.98 billion for the administrative costs.
The MPs led by the Speaker Anita Among Annet on Wednesday blocked the re-allocation during a day-long plenary in which they debated the report of the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development on Wednesday.“When you want to give birth to a new baby, why should suffocate the old child?” Rose Obigah the Terego District Woman Representative questioned Government.
Adding that, “UWEP is the only thing I feel in Terego, and therefore, we are not accepting that this money be shifted when we do not even understand the Parish Development Model,” Obigah declined.
Gender Committee Chairperson, Flavia Rwabuhoro Kabahenda, who doubles as the Woman MP representing Kyegegwa District also opposed the e-allocation of funds, noting that it will have a negative impact on the lives of the women fraternity.
Adding that, “Whereas special interest groups have been allocated funds in the PDM, the bulk of the budget targets agricultural enterprises – yet the vast majority of women in Uganda have limited access to key factors of production such as land’.
Meanwhile, Speaker Among weighed in observing that Government will ‘suffocate’ a well performing livelihoods improvement programme in favour of a new programme whose impact and success is yet unknown.
“That one is a no go area. You cannot transfer the money from UWEP to PDM, Women need their money because not all women will be in the PDM’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Society – SACCOs,” said Among.
She directed that UWEP funds must not be altered because the it has vastly contributed to the well-being and happiness of the vulnerable women, recording 72 per cent recovery rate from the funds loaned to the various women’s SACCO groups in the country.
Betty Amongi, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development welcomed Parliament’s resolution to halt the transfer of the money. In 2021, last year cabinet resolved to transfer 29.2 billion under UWEP to be merged under the PDM.
“If this House feels the money should be retained, the line committee report should be amended to reflect this,” said Amongi.
The Minister also informed the House that there is a pending Presidential directive to allocate 34.7 billion recovered from loans under UWEP to facilitate the revolving fund for both the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and UWEP. Several other MPs further rejected the plan.
