Why has the EC ignored youth council elections?
May 07, 2009
ONE of the big achievements of the NRM government since its inception in 1986 has been affirmative action for the people hitherto marginalised on the basis of gender, age and disability — women, youth and people with disabilities (PWDs).
By Mark Muwanguzi
ONE of the big achievements of the NRM government since its inception in 1986 has been affirmative action for the people hitherto marginalised on the basis of gender, age and disability — women, youth and people with disabilities (PWDs).
Politically, these people have been empowered by not only letting them elect their own representatives at all levels of government, but also by helping them set up leadership structures from the village to the national level.
Unlike women councils and PWDs councils, where one can have life-long eligibility in terms of membership and leadership status, youth councils have got age limits.
The national youth policy (2001) defines youth as young people; male and female, aged between 12 and 30 years, which is simply a transitional period from adolescence to full adulthood.
According to the National Youth Statute (1993), these young people are required to elect their leaders, right from the village to the national level, after every four years.
The Electoral Commission consistently conducted elections for youth councils in 1994, 1998 and 2002. Logically, the next elections would have been held in 2006. Unfortunately, three years down the road, the Electoral Commission has not done the needful.
Can you imagine a person elected in the youth council at 29 years of age in 2002 is now 36 years old? Should such a person continue calling himself a youth leader?
Apart from mobilising the youth for development, one of the major objectives of youth councils is to prepare young people for mature leadership.
This, indeed, has been achieved as many former youth leaders have taken up various positions of leadership at all levels. For example, four of the nine East African legislators representing Uganda, Bernard Mulengani, Nusura Tiperu, Dan Kidega and Mike Sebalu, were youth leaders a few years ago.
Also, a reasonable number of MPs in the eighth Parliament of Uganda such as Rosemary Namayanja, Geoffrey Ekanya, Winfred Kajeke, Stephen Baka and Milton Muwuma, politically originate from youth leadership structures, thus the need to take them seriously.
Remember, the Government sends big sums of money to these councils, especially at national and district levels, which I am sure the ordinary youths do not know about. But why put money meant for youth in the hands of expired youth councils and probably expired youths?
By the way, do these councils have the legal mandate to operate? It is, of course, not their mistake, but whose is it? As usual the Electoral Commission will complain of lack of funds, but where did they get the funds for carrying out the ongoing byelections to fill vacant positions in local governments?
What are the youth MPs doing in Parliament? How about the other youthful and youth-friendly MPs? How about those who were youth leaders before? Have they forgotten where they came from?
If the Government cannot facilitate youth elections, why did it establish them? Let it do away with them, after all, do the ordinary youths have anything to lose anyway?
The writer is a former district youth councillor for Bugiri
ONE of the big achievements of the NRM government since its inception in 1986 has been affirmative action for the people hitherto marginalised on the basis of gender, age and disability — women, youth and people with disabilities (PWDs).
Politically, these people have been empowered by not only letting them elect their own representatives at all levels of government, but also by helping them set up leadership structures from the village to the national level.
Unlike women councils and PWDs councils, where one can have life-long eligibility in terms of membership and leadership status, youth councils have got age limits.
The national youth policy (2001) defines youth as young people; male and female, aged between 12 and 30 years, which is simply a transitional period from adolescence to full adulthood.
According to the National Youth Statute (1993), these young people are required to elect their leaders, right from the village to the national level, after every four years.
The Electoral Commission consistently conducted elections for youth councils in 1994, 1998 and 2002. Logically, the next elections would have been held in 2006. Unfortunately, three years down the road, the Electoral Commission has not done the needful.
Can you imagine a person elected in the youth council at 29 years of age in 2002 is now 36 years old? Should such a person continue calling himself a youth leader?
Apart from mobilising the youth for development, one of the major objectives of youth councils is to prepare young people for mature leadership.
This, indeed, has been achieved as many former youth leaders have taken up various positions of leadership at all levels. For example, four of the nine East African legislators representing Uganda, Bernard Mulengani, Nusura Tiperu, Dan Kidega and Mike Sebalu, were youth leaders a few years ago.
Also, a reasonable number of MPs in the eighth Parliament of Uganda such as Rosemary Namayanja, Geoffrey Ekanya, Winfred Kajeke, Stephen Baka and Milton Muwuma, politically originate from youth leadership structures, thus the need to take them seriously.
Remember, the Government sends big sums of money to these councils, especially at national and district levels, which I am sure the ordinary youths do not know about. But why put money meant for youth in the hands of expired youth councils and probably expired youths?
By the way, do these councils have the legal mandate to operate? It is, of course, not their mistake, but whose is it? As usual the Electoral Commission will complain of lack of funds, but where did they get the funds for carrying out the ongoing byelections to fill vacant positions in local governments?
What are the youth MPs doing in Parliament? How about the other youthful and youth-friendly MPs? How about those who were youth leaders before? Have they forgotten where they came from?
If the Government cannot facilitate youth elections, why did it establish them? Let it do away with them, after all, do the ordinary youths have anything to lose anyway?
The writer is a former district youth councillor for Bugiri