Iganga, (UG):- A section of women in Bugongo parish and Nawangaiza parish in Nawandala Sub County, Iganga District have petitioned their woman member of parliament for Iganga Hon. Kauma Sauda Alibaawo to ask the government for revised terms and conditions for them to benefit from the GROW programme.
The disgruntled women accuse the implementers of the programme of charging the money and asking for their land titles and land agreements, which they said that such properties are governed by their husbands.
These, therefore want the government through their woman MP to intervene and revise the requirements for one to benefit from the GROW programme.
The women were on Wednesday at Namabwere primary school in Nawandala Sub County where they gathered in their respective groups to receive over 300 chickens from Hon Alibaawo in her campaign to improve the livelihood of women in Iganga district. Each group was given 50 chickens as start-up capital in their journey to prosperity.
Ms Naigambi Lydia from Nawandala Trading Centre says, “They solicited money from us through opening bank accounts and depositing Shs80,000 and also asked for land titles and land agreements from us yet we don’t have such things. I was informed that I needed to have a business with a capital of Shs4m yet my capital was very small.”
The chairperson Kisoboka Saving Group in Nawandala Ms. Nakagolo Faith said they were not able to join the program given the many conditions attached. She asked their woman MP Hon Alibaawo to raise their concerns to the relevant offices for them to benefit from the GROW programme.
However, Hon Kauma Sauda Alibaawo condemned the mode of implementation of the programme citing that it has turned to benefit the well-off class of women other than the intended group and asked the government to intervene saying the current strings attached to the GROW programme are very tight to accommodate a common woman.
“This programme has not helped our women on the grassroot because it’s targeting well-off women. How can you ask for land titles and land agreements from a low-earning woman, I therefore beseech the government to make some changes in order to accommodate our toiling mothers,” Hon. Alibaawo said.
GROW project is a Government of Uganda initiative that arose out of the need to respond to the needs of women entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses, sustain their self-employment and create more jobs.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises in targeted locations, including in refugee-hosting districts (RHDs).
Meanwhile, she asked the women through their groups to utilize the chickens as a start-up support to improve their livelihood, adding that it’s part of her programme to ensure the inclusiveness of all women in Iganga District.
A section of beneficiaries commended Hon. Alibaawo for the support saying it will help them fight poverty and improve livelihood.
Ms. Suzan Nakawala from Namusisi village and Ms. Nakisige Ruth say the development project will help them in uplifting their standard and assured her of total support citing the number of empowerment projects she has since invested in them.
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