UWOPA Launches Five-Year Strategic Plan

Districts Allocated Shs 3M For Women’s Day Celebrations.

The Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Development Betty Amongi has revealed that the government has earmarked Shs 3M for organizing Women’s Day Celebrations in the districts.

She disclosed the package to members of the Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) during the launch of the five-year strategic plan for the association in Kampala.

According to the Minister, each district will receive at least Shs3m starting next financial year to facilitate the organization of women’s day Celebrations.

However, upon receiving the news, female legislators were quick to urge the government to allocate these funds directly to District Woman MPs as focal persons. Noting that all along they have been carrying the burden of organizing Women’s day Celebrations by drawing funds from their own pockets.

Female MPs under UWOPA urged the government to just channel this money directly to Women’s MPs instead of sending it to district administrators who abandoned the mandate of organizing Women’s day Celebrations.

The third Deputy Prime Minister Lukia Nakadama who represented the vice president at the launch of the Strategic Plan of Uganda Women Parliamentary Association urged female legislators to monitor the implementation of wealth creation programs rolled out by the government in different areas to ensure that they benefit women more.

Nakadama reiterated the government’s commitment to fighting female genital mutilation by working with the governments of Kenya and South Sudan to fight the practice which is on the rampage across boundaries.

The five-year strategic plan is aimed at revamping the environment by planting more trees, fighting corruption, improving access to quality education, increasing the numbers of women in politics monitoring the parish development Model, increasing access to economic opportunities for women and girls, and improving access to quality health, among others.

UWOPA Chairperson also Tororo District Woman Representative Sarah Opendi said they are going to support women leaders, majorly the female MPs, to encourage every woman to plant a tree targeting 24 Million trees annually throughout the country.

Opendi said that they are communities in Uganda now without firewood for cooking food as a result of people cutting trees and not replacing them hence affecting weather patterns.