The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development says discrepancies in dates of birth on national identity cards are preventing thousands of eligible older persons from accessing cash assistance, prompting calls for reforms to the social protection programme.
At least 43,000 older Ugandans have raised complaints over their inability to access government cash assistance under the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) programme because of discrepancies in the dates of birth recorded on their national identity cards.
The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development says some of the affected elderly persons cannot afford to have their personal details corrected through the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), leaving them unable to access benefits for which they believe they qualify.
The ministry has appealed to Parliament to intervene and help resolve the administrative challenges preventing vulnerable older persons from receiving the grants.
Steven Kasaija, head of the SAGE programme, said about 318,000 older persons were currently receiving the assistance, against a potential beneficiary population of more than 2.4 million older persons across the country.
He said discrepancies in national identity records, inadequate funding and the programme's minimum eligibility age remained among the challenges limiting access to the grants.
“We have received 43,000 complaints from people across the country who are eligible to benefit from SAGE, but their national IDs indicate different ages,” Kasaija said.
He explained that some elderly persons gave inaccurate ages during the initial national identity card registration exercise because they could not remember their exact dates of birth.
Consequently, some people who are older in reality are recorded as younger on their identity cards and fail to meet the programme's eligibility requirements.
“You find that some women have seen their sons benefit from SAGE, yet they cannot access the money because they forgot their dates of birth. During the first National ID registration exercise, some people registered ages that were significantly lower than their actual ages,” Kasaija said.
He cited cases in which a mother whose son is 80 years old has an identity card indicating that she is only 70, making her ineligible for assistance under the age-based programme despite being older in reality.
The ministry has engaged legislators under the Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection to explore ways of resolving the challenges and improving the programme's delivery.
MPs demand higher grants and lower eligibility age
During a meeting at Mada Hotel in Jinja City, members of Parliament called for reforms, including an increase in the monthly grant from the current Shs25,000.
The legislators said the amount had remained unchanged since the programme was introduced in 2014, despite rising living costs and economic pressures on older persons who depend on limited household incomes.
Yovan Adriko, the Vurra County MP, said the payment was insufficient to meet beneficiaries' basic needs.
“Due to poverty in society and inflation in the country, you find that Shs25,000 is very little money per month,” Adriko said.
Charles Tebandeke, the Bbaale County MP, also called for an increase, arguing that the existing payment did not adequately support beneficiaries in meeting their daily needs.
The legislators further proposed lowering the minimum eligibility age, currently set at 80 years under the programme's arrangements, to between 60 and 65 years.
Patrick Obura, the Oyam South MP, said the current threshold excluded many vulnerable older persons who could no longer work and had no reliable sources of income.
Rose Obigah, the Terego District Woman MP, said legislators were prepared to engage President Yoweri Museveni over increased funding for social protection programmes, including SAGE.
She expressed optimism that the proposals could receive consideration and said Parliament would continue pushing for higher budget allocations to improve the welfare of older persons.
Beyond the eligibility and funding concerns, legislators also called for changes to the grant payment system to make access easier for elderly beneficiaries, particularly those who struggle to travel to designated payment points.
Patrick Katabaazi, the Rukiga County MP and newly elected chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection for a five-year term, proposed introducing mobile money payments.
He said the arrangement could reduce transport costs and the physical burden on older persons, especially those with mobility challenges or living far from payment centres.
Kasaija said the ministry had already started piloting mobile money payments as an alternative to the existing system.
He said the government would consider extending the arrangement nationwide if the pilot proved successful.
The proposed reforms are expected to feature in broader discussions on expanding access to social protection, improving the adequacy of payments and addressing administrative barriers that prevent eligible older persons from receiving assistance.
However, resolving the national identity card discrepancies remains a key concern, with thousands of elderly Ugandans potentially unable to access the programme until their recorded ages are corrected or an alternative verification mechanism is established.