UWOPA chair to move a private bill on UWEP merger

By Prossy Kisakye

The chairperson of Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) also the Budaka woman Member of Parliament, Kamugo Pamela Nasiyo, is preparing a private members bill on protection of Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program (UWEP).

This followed a cabinet decision to merge all the nine wealth Funds and also move UWEP from gender ministry to finance.

The programme which started in  2015, to address the challenges women face in undertaking economically viable enterprises, accessing affordable credit, technical knowledge, skills for business development and access to market has so far over 170,000 beneficiaries.

However the government’s decision to merge it with other wealth funds like emyooga, youth livelihood fund among others has been protested by UWOPA and National Women’s Council.

Kamugo says if the government doesn’t drop the decision, she will present a private members bill to parliament to protect the fund from what she called mafias.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna