The Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, Hon. Balaam Barugahara has revealed that the political interference is hindering the implementation of the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP).
While showing earlier than the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development on Tuesday, 25 February 2025, the minister stated that politicians are irritating the programmes by sending mistaken messages that the funds are a reward from authorities.
“In Busoga, there’s a politician advised folks throughout a rally that ‘this cash is so that you can eat’. When a pacesetter who’s considered one of us says such, you don’t count on beneficiaries to pay again,” stated Barugahara.
The two programmes are supposed to supply monetary assist and capability constructing to youth and girls teams focusing on the poor and most susceptible. The funds are run on a revolving foundation the place beneficiaries make a refund inside three years.
In West Nile, Barugahara stated mobilisers of the NRM social gathering thought-about the funds as pending fee they demanded from the social gathering.
Barugahara was dismayed by regulation enforcers who he stated have failed the programme by releasing native leaders that defrauded teams.
“In one village of Butebo District, the chairperson stole Shs8.5 million meant for a bunch and ran away to a different district. He was arrested however later launched. He has affected the group as a result of it has not benefited,” stated Barugahara.
He additionally blamed the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development for weakening implementation, with funds cuts that left a ‘skeleton’ funds for working the secretariat, supervision and assortment of cash.
“Ever since I grew to become a minister, I’ve travelled all through the nation and out of 100 per cent of my journeys, the ministry has facilitated solely 10 per cent. As a minister, Am I supposed to make use of private cash or the wage to do supervision work?” he requested.
The National Coordinator for UWEP and YLP, Winfred Masiko stated the secretariat is supported with10 per cent of the entire funds allotted to the programme.
“The cash we ship to native governments could be very small for them to have the ability to supervise and prepare teams and accumulate cash. Sometimes, our focal individuals are overwhelmed by different programmes,” stated Masiko.
Masiko nevertheless, counseled the programme’s demonstrable influence saying out of the Shs329 billion, Shs79 billion has been recovered amidst the COVID-19 results.
Busongora County North MP, Hon. Sowedi Kitanywa who additionally served as a YLP district coordinator needs authorities to give you a neighborhood improvement fund to bridge the gaps in supervision.
“If we should not have a fund for supervision, then we shall be placing our efforts to waste. We have neighborhood improvement officers at districts and sub-counties however we count on them to maneuver on foot to watch programmes,” stated Kitanywa.
Hon. Allan Mayanja (NUP, Nakaseke Central County) charged the secretariat to give you a components of recovering cash, observing that it’s impractical to count on beneficiaries to refund cash after such an extended interval.
“It is sort of 10 years for YLP and 9 years for UWEP; you say the restoration is meant to be finished in three years. You have to state that for some teams the cash is recoverable and for this different group, cash is certainly non-recoverable,” Mayanja stated.
The PWD consultant, Hon. Alex Ndeezi requested the ministry to seek out different sources of funds to capitalise the programme apart from counting on recoveries from beneficiaries.
