The Auditor General has appealed to Government to clear the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment(SAGE)owed to eligible senior Citizens, to show commitment to the Senior Citizens Grant program.
The recommendation is among many outlined in the recently released Auditor General’s report to Parliament for the year ended 30th June 2022.
“Despite the strategies Government has put in place to ensure sustainability of the Senior Citizens Grant program, there is need for Government to demonstrate its commitment by clearing the accumulated arrears owed to the senior citizens.” The report partially states.
The report also indicates that there is need for Gorvernment to strengthen its systems in terms of creating awareness and building capacity of the Local governments so that they can take ownership of the program.
It should be noted that in June 2022, Government of Uganda took over full sponsorship of the Senior Citizens Grant (SCG) under the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment(SAGE) and currently a total of sh5.1b is in arrears.
The Auditor General found out that beneficiaries were paid quarterly while some would receive their grants after six months contrary to the bi-monthly payments provided for in the implementation guidelines, this is partially attributed to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development delays in releasing the funds.
The Auditor General’s report also highlights the programme’s significant impact in the communities. However, exclusions continue to down play the essence of the Grant.
Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE) is a social Protection Programme implemented by the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
The Beneficiaries are entitled to 25,000/= monthly which is paid by the Government of Uganda through Centenary Bank. The program started in the financial year 2015/2016.
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