UPDF to conduct nationwide verification of veterans

KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Uganda People’s Defence Forces-UPDF is to conduct a nationwide verification exercise of 68,000 army veterans.

The Minister of State for Veteran Affairs, Huda Abason Oleru, said that the verification exercise is aimed at ensuring payroll integrity for smooth payment of pensions and gratuity.

While addressing journalists on the pension verification exercise, Oleru also said that the exercise will help to identify veterans and survivors who have never received their payment from the government since the 1980s.

Brig. Flavia Byekwaso, the UPDF spokesperson says that the two weeks exercise which will start on January 17 to February 4 is also aimed at identifying the right beneficiaries since 2016 when the government decentralized payment of pension to mother ministers, but since then, the Defence ministry has never verified the lists.

“The Ministry inherited a list that was being used by the public service, but this payroll to date has never been validated, yet there are very many changes of many people who have gone off the payment, others died but the families kept quiet, others ageing. This exercise will help us to know the true beneficiaries, we want a clean payroll this time,” Byekwaso said.

According to Byekwaso, after the verification exercise, the ministry plans to build a database that will help in reintegrating and giving support to all veterans who fought for the country.

Oleru said 10 zones where the exercise will be conducted have been created countrywide, and a team from the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs will start visiting each district with support from the respective Resident District Commissioners, District Internal Security Officers-DISOs.

The ministry says that 11,000 out of the expected number of 68,000 military veterans and beneficiaries are receiving their payments.