The Government, through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), has released sh3.4b, a one-off gratuity (akasiimo) for civilian veterans who participated in the bush war that brought the National Resistance Army (NRA) to power.
Alice Kaboyo, the state minister for Luwero Triangle in the OPM, said a total of 1,269 civilian ex-fighters from Luwero, Nakasongola and Nakaseke districts would benefit from the released cash.
The payment, she said, will be in recognition of the support and contributions made by ex-fighters during the liberation struggle. This is the 51st payment schedule since the commencement of the programme 16 years ago, Kaboyo said.
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala yesterday, Kaboyo said since its inception in 2008, the Government, through the akasiimo programme has verified and paid 87,269 beneficiaries from across major bush war corridors in the country.
The minister reiterated the Government’s effort towards recognising the contributions made by different individuals, families and communities during the bush war, which she noted, was the last push for national liberation.
The war, which brought to power the NRA — now the National Resistance Movement — took place between 1981 and 1986.
“The Veterans Verification Committee will continue verifying civilians that have not yet been considered and my office shall ensure that the allocated funds for akasiimo are paid to the right beneficiaries,” Kaboyo said.
She explained that akasiimo is not proportional to one’s input, adding that it is a mere appreciation for their contributions.
She, therefore, noted that the selection of beneficiaries, a process she described as hectic, underwent several parameters to determine the rightful people.
Kaboyo said the fund would be given to four categories: surviving veterans, children of the late veterans, secret committees and external wings, which she said include those who supported the fighters with food and shelter.
She said surviving veterans shall get shiom each, while the rest will get sh5m each. This, Kaboyo explained, was a directive from President Yoweri Museveni who established the akasiimo programme in 2008.
PARLIAMENT PROBE
In 2019, Parliament’s public accounts committee conducted investigations into payments to beneficiaries under the Luwero-Rwenzori Triangle Initiative.
The then committee chairperson, Nandala Mafabi, tasked the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the National Identification and Registration Authority with scrutinising a schedule of over 10,000 beneficiaries that they paid during the financial year 2017/2018, to rule out the theft of public funds.
He further summoned schedules of previous payments so that the same procedure could be applied to inform the committee’s final decision on the programme.
OPM is charged with the mandate of paying gratuity to non-combatant war veterans under the Luwero-Rwenzori Triangle programme.
Beneficiaries receive a one-off payment transferred through Centenary Bank. However, a June 2018 audit report, raised concerns over the absence of a comprehensive, verifiable database of the veterans paid and those awaiting payment since the inception of the programme.
