Local council chairman urges youth to embrace government programmes

4 January 2025, 11:23 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The local council chairman of Kisenyi II zone in Kampala, Mr. Sande Nkoyooyo Kiwana, has urged Ugandans, especially young people, to participate in government initiatives such as Emyooga, Parish Development Model, among others. During an engagement with the media in Kampala, Nkoyooyo said, “In this new year, I want to request young people to take this opportunity and get involved in government programs. By doing so, they will be able to prosper and also stop thinking that everything should be given to them by their relatives or gotten from men, especially young women.”

It should be remembered that the Minister of State for Microfinance, Hon. Haruna Kasolo, recently urged Ugandans, especially leaders, to work hard and fight poverty. During his recent monitoring visit to Busoga sub-region in Namayingo district, where according to his assessment, government programs have not performed well, he advised the people there that when they receive any money, they should always ensure that they save a portion before spending it.

Meanwhile, a law student at Uganda Christian University, Kusiima Patricia, thanked Hon. Kasolo for his teachings about fighting poverty and developing a saving culture. “I want to take this opportunity to thank Hon. Kasolo Haruna for opening my eyes. I used to spend all the money my dad gives me for upkeep at the university, but since I started following the minister, I decided to try it, and I am happy to announce that I have been able to save some good money for my birthday, which is today,” she said. Kusiima has called upon young people to always heed what their leaders tell them because most of them are ignorant about things that are developmental to them.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, the Emyooga categories include: market vendors, produce dealers, women entrepreneurs, boda-boda riders, carpenters, salon operators, taxi operators, restaurant owners, welders, youth leaders, persons with disabilities, mechanics, journalists, tailors, performing artists, veterans (orphans and widows of veterans), and fishermen, totaling 18 categories per constituency.

The implementation was phased, starting with community mobilisation, sensitisation, and identification of beneficiaries and constituency-based SACCOs, capacity building, and business governance structures for SACCOs and groups, disbursement of funds, monitoring, and evaluation. This Emyooga initiative is implemented by the Microfinance Support Centre through its regional branch network countrywide, with support from the Office of the President, District Emyooga task forces chaired by the resident district commissioners (RDCs), district local government, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, among others.