The parliament of Uganda was planning to pay tribute to the oldest living citizen, who is 134 years old.
The announcement was made by deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa who directed that the 134-year-old woman be transported from her home in Fort Portal City to parliament.
Tayebwa explained that it was not easy for ordinary citizens to celebrate their 134th birthday and as a result parliament has to honour the lady for attaining that age.
“This is a big record. Staying alive to that age,” said the deputy speaker.
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According to the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development the 134-year old granny is known as Lucy Kahubire.
Parliament picked up the initiative to honour the old lady after she was identified on October 1, during celebrations of International Day for Older Persons in Uganda.
At the same time, the Minister of State for Gender in charge of elderly affairs Dominic Gidudu explained that the elderly persons celebration day was established in 1990 by the United Nations General Assembly to create awareness of the needs of elderly people in society.
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Statistics from the Uganda National Household Survey indicate an increment in the elderly population in the country from about 1.7 million in 2016/17 to 2.2 million in 2019/20.
The members of parliament have also called on the government to invest more in the welfare of elderly persons.
Parliament was also urged to lower the age for the social assistance grant for empowerment from the current 80 years.
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At the same time, legislators regretted that it was unfortunate to see elderly persons begging along the streets in Kampala and other towns due to poverty and lack of proper care.
“Apart from sensitizing members of the community to take good care of elderly persons, the government should also establish homes for the elderly to cater for homeless elders instead of leaving them to beg from streets,” said Namayingo District Woman MP Margaret Makokha.
