Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1105666,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1105666/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 348,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I really wish that the Members who have talked today would have been here yesterday, when I was moving the Bill. This is because they would have understood the rationale for repealing this Bill. The Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare carried out public participation and when they presented their Report yesterday, they came up with the same conclusion that the Bill should be repealed. First of all, I sense some confusion through the contributions this afternoon that, perhaps, we are doing away with the Social Assistance Fund or the Social Assistance Program. But that is not the case. Since the introduction of the first experiment of Social Assistance Fund in 2004 with 500 beneficiaries, the number has now moved to 1.2 million. The Fund has grown. Before the introduction of this law in 2013, operations have never stopped because of the lack or the non- operability of this law. I mentioned yesterday that one of the challenges we have been having with this Act is that it set up the Social Assistance Authority - which is basically converting the Department within a Ministry that has been doing this into an authority. With due respect to most Government departments, this is something that was done for self-perpetuation and not with the intention of necessarily bringing in any efficiency in the operations of the Government. As it was preparing to manage this Fund, the Public Finance Management Act (PFM) is also very clear in terms of how funds are set up and managed. They will be managed together based on the regulations pursuant to the PFM Act, and that is how it has been operating. We have a whole group of people who are scattered between the handicapped, children, vulnerable and different people under different ministries. We also have people with disabilities or living differently."
}