We won’t ban sports betting and gambling – Minister Matia Kasaija
January 22, 2019
ICT Minister Tumwebaze Makes Good on Former School Pledge
January 22, 2019
By Francis Otucu
The State Minister for Defence in charge of Veteran Affairs, Bright Rwamirama has said government is to set aside resources in a bid to clear off pension backlog for Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) veterans and retired soldiers.
Lt. Col. Rwamirama made the revelation while presiding over a half day strategic conference to support the clearance of the military Pension and Gratuity case backlog at Hotel Africana in Kampala yesterday.
Justifying the importance of the conference, he said, the conference brought together all stakeholders to ensure that the backlog gets to zero by the end of 2020.
“The Government of Uganda is ready to allocate resources to clear off the pension case backlog over the next two years, once the requisite records are availed,” Lt. Col. Rwamirama said, and emphasized that the conference is intended to mobilize support for the various stakeholders to facilitate the speedy acquisition of documents required for complete processing and payment of all pending military pensions and gratuity.
He added that the ministry has commissioned a task force to conduct a countrywide completion of documentation of all unpaid military veterans and their survivors, with a view to update their records.
The Minister noted that some progress had so far been made in payment as of 2018, which previously stood at 83,153 unpaid claimants but currently stands at 79,084.
“All stakeholders need to get on board to holistically and strategically think through what we need in order to achieve our goal which will result in a better quality of life of all military veterans and their families and create ripple effects to our economy and country,” he added.
Lt. Col. Rwamirama stressed that there is need to work together to provide for the military veterans in honor of their sacrifices for country.
The Ministry’s Under Secretary, Edith Buturo, who represented the Permanent Secretary, noted that the current backlog constitutes the biggest arrear for the ministry ever.
She however said that in the next two years, payments to all military veterans and their survivors will be made.
The Under Secretary commended all stakeholders for accepting to join the ministry to deliberate on how best to collectively discharge this important responsibility.
“We all need to be mindful of the responsibilities of our respective agencies,” she said.
The conference was attended by among others, the Joint Chief of Staff Maj Gen Joseph Musanyufu, the Chairman Pension Task Force Brig Emmanuel Musinguzi and Chief of Personnel and Administration Brig George Igumba.
