By Juma Nsubuga
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has launched the 2023/2024 11th Annual Report on the state of equal opportunities in Uganda.
The Report is launched under the Theme:Fostering Inclusive growth for Sustainable Development at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala.
EOC launches the report In accordance with section 24(2) and (3) of the equal opportunities Act.
The report highlights the state of equal opportunities in Uganda focusing on planning Budgeting and resource utilization,historical marginalization,Taxation,Salary disparities among public servants in Uganda among others.
The Report also highlights on the state of equal opportunities in education sector,state of opportunities in Access to Electricity and Solar energy,effects of fees charge in primary and secondary schools on Access to education in Uganda, status of Access to Justice by Vulnerable groups in Uganda and concerns of youth, persons with disabilities, Older persons and selected Ethnic minority groups.
The report recommends government to come out with a school feeding policy to address the challenges of starvation, irregular attendance and high dropout rates by pupils/students and financial strain on low income families.
EOC also in a report recommends government to enhance the effectiveness of addressing salary disparities within Uganda’s public service.
“We recommend transferring the functions of salary review to the EOC since EOC is already tasked with promoting equality and addressing inequalities across various sectors” said the Chair of the EOC Safia Nalule.
The report further recommend the ministry of public service to implement an enhancement plan to achieve proposed long term pay targets for all public servants.
The ministry of energy and mineral development has also been advised to prioritize connecting the remaining sub-county headquarters across the 13 regions to the national electricity grid to help reduce reliance on dangerous forms of energy and enhance safety and accessibility for local communities.
EOC also wants the government to provide funding for legal aid service particularly in rural areas to enable vulnerable groups to access professional legal representation without having to incur heavy financial burden.
The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has been recommended in a report to formulate a national policy of Ethnic minorities to clearly define their issues and areas of intervention.
The report also shows the need by this same ministry to establish a national council for the Ethnic minorities to act as a platform for coordination and advocacy of their concerns.
Meanwhile, the minister of gender labour and social development Betty Amongi who graced the event applauded EOC for doing a commendable independent Job.
“This task is not easy since EOC check the performance of government officials and I think they (EOC) face a lot of challenges including intimidations while collecting Data from government officials” she noted adding that this report is going to help the President and the ministers in the mentioned ministries to take action on the issues raised in the report.
The chairperson of EOC Hajjat Safia Nalule Jjuuko says that producing the EOC annual report on the state of equal opportunities in Uganda is a Statutory requirement although it comes with a lot of challenges.
“We thank government especially President Museveni for the support provided to us although we still need more and more to enable us to work better” she noted.
