The National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (Nudipu) says there is little funding from government which has led to poor welfare of people with disabilities (PWDs).
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the Nudipu annual general meeting last week, executive director Edson Ngirabakunzi urged government to emulate its neighbours, Kenya, who fund the activities of disabled people’s organisations (DPOs).
“We largely depend on outside support and not government and this is very different from developed countries. Why not support our own people so that they can be able to lead better lives?” Ngirabakunzi said at Pope Paul VI Memorial hotel in Lubaga.
He further decried poor government policy implementation and wondered why it was not enforcing regulations as required by law.
He, for instance, said that the ministry of education’s Special Needs department doesn’t receive the envisaged 10 percent of the education budget.
But in a telephone interview with The Observer, Sam Masaba Wekesa, the commissioner disability and elderly in the gender ministry, said government considers contributions made by DPOs to promote PWDs welfare. He said DPOs were allowed to seek finances without any deductions like taxes.
“We have put in place the legal policy framework that allows them to seek financing without interference. Do we need to give them more money?” questioned Wekesa.
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