The Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority, Minsa Kabanda, has implored Parliament to enact a law banning the public from giving money to street children.
She made the remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Presidential Affairs Committee where officials from KCCA had appeared to defend their 2024/25 national budget framework paper.
She said the government is wasting a lot of money relocating the vulnerable children, who end up returning to the same streets.
“We need your intervention as Parliament. As Cabinet pronounces itself, you also need to come up with a Bill not to give them [street children] money on the streets because they are collecting money. We are not afraid but I think we have done what we are supposed to do,” Kabanda told MPs.
The minister’s remarks were in response to a concern raised by Henry Masiko who represents the army in parliament, who wondered whether KCCA has turned street children into tourist attractions, which could explain why the Authority did not budget for the activities of getting the kids off the streets in the next financial year.
In response, the Minister said that the Ministry of Gender is in charge, explaining that they are facing challenges such as inadquate remand homes to rehabilitate the street children.
