President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his younger brother, General Caleb Akwandwanaho alias Gen. Salim Saleh have been recognised for a starring role in the development of Uganda and propagation of an all inclusive society, ensuring equal opportunities for all Ugandans.
The remarks were made by Mr Habibu Sseruwagi, a member of the Equal Opportunity Commission on Wednesday, 1, February during the ongoing Patriotism retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) Kyankwanzi.
He commended the strides achieved in fighting to establish an all inclusive society under the current leadership of President Yoweri Museveni who he said strongly believe in inclusion for all. He described Museveni as ” the Champion of equality and equal opportunities in this country, who is such an asset to Uganda and my prayer is that we continue to support him in his development agenda now and beyond 2026.”
Sseruwagi also hailed the commitment by the entire first family in the development agenda is beyond reach, singling out General Salim Saleh whose transformational role in areas he has been to, including Kapeeka where no one thought such industries could come up among so many other things he has done for this country.
This, he said, shows the commitment and zeal that these leaders have towards transforming the economy and many people working in these factories are most marginalized people but this has become a source of livelihood.
Also recognised is First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni for her wonderful work and guidance she continues to give the Ministry and mothering the nation.
At the workshop, Seruwagi delved into the legal mandate of the Commission on which he serves. The Commission, he explained, is mandated to assess all Government plans and budgets; that is, the National Budget, the Programme Budget Framework Papers (BFPs), Vote Ministerial Policy Statements (MPSs) and Local Government RFPs for GE compliance; and consequently advise the Minister responsible for Finance to issue a Certificate of G&E Compliance to each entity before Parliament can appropriate finances for the ensuing
Financial Year. This legal provision, Seruwagi noted, has tremendously contributed to inclusive development and leaving no one behind.
The EOC boss also enumerated some of the key milestones the Commission Over the years, the Commission has registered over time, including:
Production and dissemination of ten successive Annual Reports on the State of Equal Opportunities in Uganda. These reports are; accountability reports that highlight the service delivery gaps towards vulnerable populations, and hold the agencies accountable to improve through targeted recommendations, promotion of equitable social justice and mitigated imbalances perpetuated through discrimination and marginalization through its complaints management and redress mechanisms. The complaints management and redress processes included pre-tribunal visits, tribunal hearings and various alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
Over 4,000 complaints he noted, have been handled over the period. The cases handled reflect situations of inequity, discrimination and marginalization. The complaints were related to: Land, Employment, Pension, Family, Economic rights, Justice (fair hearing), Minorities, Property, Education, Religion, Clean and healthy environment and Political participation for example, 24 bills were reviewed for compliance with Equal Opportunities before passing them into law, which has promoted an inclusive legal and policy development environment by the
legislature.
Under the PFMA 2015, the EOC has conducted G&E assessments for the NBFP, Sector BFPs, LGBFPs and Vote MPSs; and advise the Ministry of Finance to issue Gender and Equity Certificates to those MDAs that comply. This has been done through all the eight successive years. In addition, the Commission has increased awareness and greater appreciation of the Gender and Equity planning and budgeting approach through the various capacity
building activities conducted according to Sseruwagi.
The Commission also prioritized promotion of public and targeted stakeholder awareness on the mandate of the Commission; as well as the principles of nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, affirmative action and inclusive development.
He also highlighted the successes in public awareness and education through multidimensional approaches focusing on the vulnerable and marginalized groups, which have included media campaigns, development and dissemination of IEC material’s, sensitization and training of various stakeholders at district, regional and national levels in both the public and private sectors, as well as holding public dialogues.
Seruwagi also reported the need for possible collaborations and partnerships highlighting specific areas, such as;
How the issue of school dropouts can be jointly addressed, the extent to which the education and sports sectors are promoting equality and equity among learners,how EOC educational messages and school activities can be harnessed further to promote nondiscrimination and affirmative action,the possibility of conducting joint public awareness and sensitisation on matters of socio-economic development, the need for specific Gender andEquityguidelines to ensure inclusion in all education programmes, request for liaison officers from within you to work with the Commission, andenhancing mobilization of communities where you operate to effectively participate in Government programmes like “Emyooga”, Parish Development Model(PDM), Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), and others.
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