Government hailed for planning for youth

By Edward Kayiwa

The Ugandan diaspora community has hailed government for incorporating views and aspirations of the youth in its planning regime, as a measure for continuing to attract growth and investment in the country.

According to the chief financial officer, South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) James Aguma, planning around the youth has triggered hard work, as well as attracting jobs and investment in the country dominated by youth.

"Uganda has implemented a number of programs aimed at creating employment specifically for the youth. These programs consist of those aimed at providing an enabling environment for the private sector to create jobs, and those targeted at building the skills and requisite knowledge to make youth more employable," he said.

In 2013, Government earmarked about sh265b to empower the poor and unemployed youth countrywide under the Youth Livelihoods Program, which has since assisted the youth to fund their startup businesses across the country.

Aguma said the youth, who are increasingly becoming cosmopolitan in look due to technological advancements, can be restless if left to their gadgets without hope for sustainable livelihood.

He also observed the need for Ugandans living abroad to invest in the education, services and business sectors in the country, to create solutions for unemployment and structural growth in the country.

"We have so many highly educated and successful Ugandans abroad but the question is why they don't invest back home and contribute to the growth of the nation," he asked.

He was speaking during the fifth Ugandan diaspora get together event, sponsored by Pepsi at the Kampala Serena hotel on Wednesday.

Former executive director of the Uganda Investment Authority, Margie Kigozi said the country has vast investment opportunities, especially in the agricultural sector where majority of the population are employed.

"Up to 80% of the population is employed in agriculture which urgently needs investment in value addition. Such investment will not only secure your retirement when you come back home, but will also create jobs and improve the livelihood of many," she advised.

According to statistics from the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), a 6.5% increase in the number of jobs created during the fourth quarter of 2013/14 was registered, although a 38% decline in planned jobs was also registered in the same period.

Kigozi said Uganda has made considerable progress in the past quarter century on many fronts, including raising people's average incomes and diversifying sources of growth from subsistence agriculture.

According to bank of Uganda, Ugandans in the diaspora remitted $ 885m (sh 2.969trillion) in 2014, a drop from the $ 980m (sh 3.29 trillion) in 2013.

Last year, they contributed approximately $ 220m (sh 738b) in FDI joint ventures, according to central bank officials.