Government releases over Shs3 billion for 1,269 bush war civilian veterans
Ms Alice Kaboyo, the Minister of State for Luwero-Rwenzori(L) hands over a dummy cheque to Veteran Kiggundu Kabandwa a member of the civilian veteran verification committee(R) as Mr Michael Jjingo, the manager for commercial banking at centenary bank(c) looks on. Photo/Jane Nafula
What you need to know:
- Veteran Kiggundu Kabandwa, a member of the civilian veteran verification committee said all the beneficiaries were verified to confirm that they qualify for the fund.
Government on June 5 announced a release of Shs3 billion as a token of appreciation to a section the civilian veterans who supported President Museveni during the guellirra war against the government of Dr Apollo Milton Obote.
Ms Alice Kaboyo, the Minister of State for Luwero-Rwenzori, told journalists during a press briefing at the Uganda Media Center in Kampala that the money will cater for 1,269 beneficiaries from the Districts of Nakasongola, Luwero and Nakaseke which was the epicenter for Mr Museveni’s liberation struggle from 1981 to 1986.
“The beneficiaries were cleared by the Veterans Verification Committee under the 51st schedule from the Districts of Luwero, Nakasongola and Nakaseke. The committee will continue verifying the civilian veterans who have not yet been considered. My office will ensure that allocated funds for Akasiimo is paid to the right beneficiaries,” Ms Kaboyo explained.
She said the exercised had been paused because they had been overwhelmed by impersonators.
This promoted President Museveni to halt the release of the funds, citing irregularities.
Ms Kaboyo said Akasiimo, token of appreciation, is not commensurate to the contributions made by civilians during the bush war, but was merely a token of appreciation.
She said Civilian veterans are scattered all over Uganda and will be reached out at an appropriate time.
According to her, over 20,000 civilian veterans from different parts of Uganda await Akasiime.
She noted that since 2008 when the Akasiimo Programme was initiated, verification commenced in 2018 to date with government verifying and paying 87,269 beneficiaries.
Veteran Kiggundu Kabandwa, a member of the civilian veteran verification committee said all the beneficiaries were verified to confirm that they qualify for the fund.
Mr Kiggungu said the beneficiaries will access the money through their Centenary Bank accounts with the amounts ranging from Shs1.5m, Shs5m and Shs10m depending on the role they played during the war.
He said that some of the civilians hosted Museveni’ rebels in their forests, provided food and advised them on the routes to take among others.
Mr Michael Jjingo, the manager for commercial banking at centenary bank revealed that some of the beneficiaries had already started accessing the funds. According to Mr Jjingo, the beneficiaries are expected to access their share of the money within a period of 90 days.
If a beneficiary does not access the money within this period, the funds will be taken back to the responsible office under the office of the prime minister and the beneficiary will be advised to reapply for the same.
