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Fort Portal city has failed to recover shillings 467,306,812m under the Youth Livelihood (YLP) programme.

A report dated March 19, 2024, that was released by Fort Portal City YLP focal person Betty Tusabe indicates that while shillings 652,896,190 was disbursed to 79 youth groups in the central and northern divisions of the city, only shillings 185,589,378 has so far been recovered.

Margaret Kabajwara, the city secretary for gender and community based services, says the YLP programme in the city is not being effectively monitored.

Margret Kabajwara the Fort Portal City secretary for Gender and Community Based services. (Credit: Rogers Sunday)

Kabajwara maintains that the groups that benefitted from the programme need to be validated.

“There is poor monitoring of these funds that is why even the recovery process is not being done properly,” Kabajwara told New Vision Online.

She believes that some of the youth groups, which benefitted from the programme disintegrated immediately after receiving the money.

“For some groups, the project money was shared among group members and that was the end. That is majorly the reason why recovery is very poor,” she said.

Fort Portal deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Emmanuel Businge stressed the need for fast tracking all the youth groups that benefitted from the programme.

According to Businge, the poor recovery of the programme funds has greatly affected its intended purpose.

“There are so many other youth groups that are on a waiting list to also benefit from the programme but this may not happen soon if the recovery continues to remain poor,” Businge said.

Betty Tusabe said her office is not fully facilitated to reach out to all the youth groups that benefitted from the programme's funds.

“We lack transport means to help in our movement and additionally, we also lack materials like computers to manage the program at City level,” Tusabe said.