African youth ask Mbabazi to be their patron

KAMPALA - Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has accepted to be the Patron of Inspirational Development Africa, an All-Africa youth organization advocating for the economic transformation of the continent.

Mbabazi said poor leadership characterized by turmoil is the biggest problem Africa has faced since the era of slavery and colonialism.

He said further that the liberation of the African continent from the imperialists did not address the challenge of leadership.

“You ask yourself, where were the African leaders all this time during slavery and colonialism for more than 400 years?”

The Premier made the remarks on Friday while receiving youths from across Africa, under their umbrella organization Inspirational Development Africa at his office in Kampala.

The African youth network, led by their President Dr. Paul Bamutaze, believe that the youth across Africa have the same problems and that, they can collectively make a positive contribution towards the stability and economic transformation of the Continent.

The youth drawn from DR. Congo, Nigeria, Eriteria, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda identified ideological disorientation, senseless wars, cultural imperialism, poverty and unemployment as some of the biggest problems Africa is facing which must be addressed.

Others came from Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Somalia.

true
PM Mbabazi poses for a photo with some of the African youth who visited him at his office. PHOTO/PM Press Unit

'I love young people'

They said Africa has all the resources it requires to achieve self-sustainability and economic transformation with the support of good leadership.

“I love the young people, and I want to thank you for the confidence you have put in me to be your patron. I gladly accept,” said Mbabazi.

He said investing in human capital is a core tenet in the transformation of Africa, adding that the efforts of the young people must be supported to prepare them for leadership roles.

The PM added: “We need good leadership but it can’t happen like manna [biblical food] from heaven. It must be prepared.”

He mentioned that the Ugandan government is making steady progress towards the transformation of the economy, and that the country is focused on infrastructure development especially roads, railway and electricity power stations to promote trade and industrialization.

He said he was a pan-Africanist and one of the revolutionary leaders in Uganda who joined active politics at an early age to liberate the country after the bitter experience of colonialism and apartheid on the African continent.

The Prime Minister castigated the colonial education system Uganda inherited.

His argument is that the system has led to unemployment because the graduates churned out from universities and other institutions of higher learning are not suitable for the current job market.

“Uganda produces about 400,000 graduates annually and they all want to compete for the available 300,000 government jobs. We have adopted the Skilling Uganda programme to ensure that we produce people who have the skills demanded by the labour market.”