The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns over the utilisation of a Shs803 billion World Bank grant intended for the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women (GROW) Project.

According to a report of the Auditor General, despite the grant’s primary goal of supporting established women-led businesses, a significant portion of the money is being directed towards mind-set change programmes, infrastructure development and competitions rather than directly benefiting the women entrepreneurs as financial aid.

The implementation of the project which started in January 2023 and ends in December 2027 targets female owned enterprises in all districts, municipalities and cities.

However, while the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Private Sector Foundation interfaced with the committee on Monday, 17 June 202, it emerged that only Shs133 billion was going to the women directly, while some of the funds would be given out as loans at an interest rate of 10 per cent.

Committee members stated that although 10 per cent appeared small and manageable, government was charging Ugandans interest on money they got as a grant.

Committee Chairperson, Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi expressed concern at the expenditure distribution revealing that only Shs133 billion of the total grant is allocated to direct financial support for women-led enterprises while the rest of the funds are predominantly used by the Ministry of Gender and the Private Sector Foundation, the project’s implementing partners for secondary activities.

 “In simple terms, out of the US$217 million, the only money out there for women available for them to borrow from is US$35 million, this is not acceptable,” Muwanga Kivumbi said.

The Commissioner for Labour, Industrial Relations and Productivity at the Gender Ministry, Alex Asiimwe said that the grants will target sectors in which women are predominantly engaged and have potential for scale and job creation.

He added the targeted sectors include agribusiness, manufacturing and hospitality, particularly focusing on foods and beverage as well as crafts and decorations.

AUDIO Kibenge

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender,  Aggrey David Kibenge told the committee that the grant foundation required a holistic approach despite it focusing on women who are already in business.

“The project is structured in a manner that does not address only the issue of credit because we could give women credit and they go and fail to access even that credit in a bank,” he said.

Tororo South County Member of Parliament, Hon. Fredrick Angura called for a re-evaluation of the grant’s allocation to ensure that a more substantial portion directly reaches the women entrepreneurs.

AUDIO Angura

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

The Africa Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) joins African nations to commemorate the International Day of the African Child. 

This year’s theme ‘Education for all children in Africa: The time is now’, highlights the urgent need to transform education not only in Somalia but across the continent by translating commitments into tangible actions.

ATMIS acknowledges the pressing requirements for substantial investments and coordinated efforts among AU member countries to enhance the quality and access to educational systems in Africa.

“High-quality education empowers individuals with the necessary knowledge and skillset to make the right choices when faced with challenges and also come up with innovative solutions,” said the African Union Special Representative for Somalia and Head of ATMIS, Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef.

Ambassador Souef said Somalia and Africa needs education systems that can help accelerate the implementation of the sustainable development goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 which are pivotal for reshaping the continent’s socio-economic and political landscape.

“To achieve our goal, education must be accessible, affordable, and of high quality, delivering graduates with employable skills for today’s job market,” added Ambassador Souef.

He urged African Nations to integrate science, technology, and innovation into their education systems as these fields are vital drivers of economic and social progress.

“Our nations in Africa must recognize the importance of science, technology and innovation in the modern-day world and implement education systems that incentivize young people to take up science-based courses,” said Ambassador Souef.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

On June 17, 2024 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to South Africa, Igor Bely, was received by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Russell Mmiso Dlamini.

The sides discussed the implementation of the April agreements between the head of the Belarusian diplomatic mission and His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, as well as the agenda of the first in the history of bilateral relations visit of Prime Minister Eswatini to Belarus. 

On the same day, the Head of the Belarusian diplomatic mission met with the Minister of Health of Eswatini, Mduduzi Matsebula. 

The parties discussed promising areas for the development of Belarusian-Eswatini relations in the field of health care with a focus on medical services, pharmaceuticals, and training of health care specialists.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up its lifesaving food and nutrition assistance programme in West and Central Africa, targeting 7.3 million people during the ongoing June-August lean season – when food stocks run out and hunger peaks. The programme – which kicks off in June – supports national governments’ lean season response plans in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Nigeria.

The number of people WFP will target as part of the programme could expand to 12 million people if adequate funding allows. But dwindling resources  available for humanitarian operations means that despite near-record level needs, WFP has been forced to assist less people than originally planned.  

West and Central Africa is in the grips of a severe food security and nutrition crisis – with nearly 55 million people projected to face acute hunger during the June-August lean season – a fourfold increase on the 12.6 million people facing acute hunger in 2019. Malnutrition has also reached extraordinary levels, with an estimated 17 million acutely malnourished children under five.

“The alarming hunger crisis in the region underscores the urgent need for transformative solutions to help vulnerable families meet not only their immediate food needs but also build a brighter future,” said Chris Nikoi, WFP’s Regional Director for Western Africa.  

“We need to continue prioritizing emergency response for those most in need. But we need more investment in sustainable solutions to help strengthen food security, improve agricultural productivity, purchasing power of families at the right time, and cushioning economic and climate shocks,” Nikoi added. 

The hunger and nutrition crisis in West and Central Africa is driven by the intertwined impacts of conflicts, high food prices, and the impacts of the climate crisis. Economic shocks linked to market disruptions, high inflation and weakened economic activities, depreciating national currencies and increasing costs of fuel and agricultural inputs have inflicted a significant toll on people – particularly in Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. 

WFP’s lean season response aims to meet the immediate food and nutrition needs of those most exposed to acute hunger – including refugees, the most vulnerable displaced people, severely food insecure people, and people in blockaded areas adversely impacted by climatic, economic and security crises.

While the crises continue to increase in magnitude, frequency, and complexity in the region, funding to respond has not kept apace – leaving even some of those facing the most acute needs without assistance. As a result, millions of food insecure families are left without assistance, and at risk of sliding further into the most severe levels of hunger next year.

This is especially worrying as the 2024 seasonal forecasts paint a grim picture of both dry spells and floods in parts of the region, potentially disrupting farming and livestock productivity, prolonging the next lean season, and exacerbating the vulnerability of hard-hit communities.

“The escalation of humanitarian needs far outstrips available resources. The only way out of this cycle is to prioritize as well durable solutions,” Nikoi insisted.

In West and Central Africa, WFP supports long-term transformative hunger solutions and is committed to strengthening government systems that build communities’ resilience to shocks, through social protection and inclusive food systems investments. Since 2018, WFP’s integrated resilience programme across the Sahel has helped restore degraded lands to food and fodder production, support children’s education, improve access to food, and boost incomes.

This integrated resilience programme has rehabilitated more than 290,000 hectares of degraded land across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience for four million people in over 3,000 villages. The programme links watershed planning and land rehabilitation to school meals, nutritional support and help to smallholder farmers. 

Among families benefitting from WFP’s integrated resilience programme, meals have become more regular, frequent, and diversified, despite multiple and recurrent shocks. In 2022 and 2023, 83 percent of Nigerien villages (home to 560,000 people) in the most food-insecure communes, prioritised by the government for lean season response did not require humanitarian assistance, saving US$54 million in the government’s National Response Plan.

In Chad, WFP and partners are supporting the government’s visionary initiative of “One family, one hectare,” which aims to help 500,000 host and refugee populations through access to land and livelihood opportunities, so they can feed themselves today while planning for a brighter future.

Such initiatives including strengthening poor families’ purchasing power with timely shock-responsive social protection schemes, need to be prioritised and expanded as humanitarian response alone is financially not sustainable and does not address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).