Uganda - Military Personnel Retirement Policy
Before 1962 Uganda had a history of helping veterans reenter civilian society, but postindependence governments discontinued these programs. Following World War II, the government had paid veterans pensions and granted them a one-year exemption from poll taxes. It also had created a committee to help veterans readjust to civilian life.
The Civil Reabsorption and Rehabilitation Committee provided teacher training programs and instruction in a variety of trades. The government also helped veterans start small businesses by providing subsidies for initial purchases of merchandise. In addition, volunteer members of the Uganda War Memorial Committee and the British Legion helped pay school fees for children of veterans. Old soldiers' homes provided nursing facilities for some aged and disabled veterans.
There was no fixed tour of duty. Army regulations requiring either five-year or nine-year contracts for recruits were largely ignored. Soldiers who sought to leave military service applied to their commanding officer, who could reject or grant the request.
The UPDF has a retirement policy backed by the UPDF Act which is progressively being implemented. The Act provides for different categories of leaving the Army and these include: “dismissal; resignation; discharge; and medical.” However, as of 2015 the UPDF had not fully implemented this retirement policy due to operational commitments and lack of ?inds. The lack of funds posed a serious challenge to the MoD who cannot retire soldiers who were due for retirement either because of age or health. The Ministry does not have any retirement structure and plan to be able to provide for a retirement roadmap for the soldiers who are due for retirement because of age or other reasons. Lack of such a plan implies that the Ministry cannot effectiver budget for the retiring soldiers.
Despite atrocities, more than 27,000 Ugandans who have taken up arms against the state have received amnesty over the 15 years since 2000. In June 2015, the government extended the deal for a further two years in a bid to encourage several hundred remaining rebels to give themselves up and cement a lasting peace. The latest extension to Uganda's amnesty law is particularly controversial as although it extends the existing immunity and resettlement programme, it contains a new provision exempting those who willingly return to an armed group having earlier abandoned it.
Discussions of programs to benefit former combatants typically refer to “return to civilian life,” however in most conflict contexts social and economic fabric itself has been very badly affected. Ex-combatants therefore do not have a “normal” community life to return to, and frequently combatants, particularly youth, had no established livelihood prior to entering the conflict.
To address ex-combatants’ economic concerns, reintegration programs have traditionally offered three routes: temporary employment in public works projects; vocational skills training; and on-the-job training or apprenticeships. The first is a temporary solution, with no provision for sustainability, except through skills and capital acquired during employment. Vocational skills training programs are popular, but do not necessarily translate into livelihoods in the absence of an expanding economy and/or express linkages to income- generation opportunities. Additionally, vocational training may actually raise expectations which cannot be met, exacerbating rather than mitigating potential for conflict. If vocational skills training is carefully planned, it can provide ex-combatants with skills that lead to livelihoods, much like on-the-job training or apprenticeships.
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