Africa-Press – Uganda. Security and town clerks have started verifying a total of 170,000 Covid-19 cash beneficiaries after the system being used at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development rejected their details.
The ICT and National Guidance Minister, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, yesterday told Daily Monitor that all the intended beneficiaries had received their cash, except the 170,000.
“Registration of the Covid cash beneficiaries ended and those who were cleared to receive the money have been paid,” Dr Baryomunsi said.
Dr Chris Baryomunsi, ICT and National Guidance Minister.
Some were rejected because their telephone numbers do not match with the NINs on their National Identity cards, while others are not registered on mobile money.
Government planned to give out Shs100,000 to each of the 501,107 vulnerable people in 42 cities and municipalities .The categories include taxi and bus drivers and conductors, boda boda cyclists, salon workers, bar attendants among others.
Post Bank has been used to send the money to MTN and Airtel to the beneficiaries after getting clearance from the Ministry of Gender.
Mr George William Kiyinji, the grants manager at Post Bank, told Daily Monitor that as of Saturday, they had paid more than 300,000 people.
“We have been paying beneficiaries for the last two weeks through Friday and Saturday night and we have met over 300,000 mark,” Mr Kiyingi said.
Government had initially said LC1s were going to register beneficiaries, but made a u-turn and asked town clerks to collect the data with the help of National Identification and Registration Authority and Uganda Bureau of Statistics. This caused confusion, especially in Kampala City, where some residents protested the lists.
President Museveni on June 18 instituted a second lockdown following the surge in Covid cases across the country.
