More than 2,000 groups of women will acquire interest-free loans worth Shs43 billion from the government under the Uganda Women's Entrepreneurship programme (UWEP).The Ministry of Gender permanent secretary, Mr Puis Bigirimana, said the move aims at lessening financial hurdles that limit women from kick-starting and expanding enterprises."Women entrepreneurs are constrained by limited access to finance as they attempt to grow their businesses. UWEP will promote women's economic empowerment through entrepreneurship skills," Mr Bigirimana said.He was speaking during the orientation workshop for district leaders in Kampala. The workshop attended by about 40 district officials was convened to shed light on the implementation of the programme.Statistics from the Uganda National Household Survey show that the unemployment rate among women has increased from 2.2 per cent to 11 per cent.The  UWEP programme document indicates that women account for 86.2 per cent of actors in the informal sector. Read more

MGLSD: Committee recommends renaming of retirement Bill
A 13-member committee that was formed to make consultations on the Retirement Benefits Sector Liberalisation Bill, 2011 has recommended that the Bill be renamed the “Retirement Benefits Sector Reform Bill, 2011.The technical committee that was tasked to carry out consultations and make recommendations on the clauses of the Bill which stakeholders had concerns about, said the it is broader and seeks to introduce reforms in the sector but not mere liberalisation.“The Bill as presented, offers more than liberalisation, and more importantly introduces reforms within the sector. It is broader than just introducing competition,” a committee chaired by Mr Pius Bigirimana, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development noted in its recommendations. Read more