Youth councilors seek dialogue with president

KAMPALA-Youth councilors under their umbrella body, the youth councilor's forum want to dialogue with President Yoweri Museveni.

This was disclosed by Moris Ogwal, the chairman of the youth councilor's forum in Kampala on Monday. Over 50 youth councilors were present at the press conference.

Ogwal said the youth leaders want to share their experience with the President.

"We need to bring to the attention of the President that the people he is working with are really tormenting the young people," Ogwal said.

Adding, "We demand to be taken more seriously as the key stakeholders in the youth movement and leadership wing for this country."

Ogwal noted that the youth have been ignored for a long time by relevant authorities especially when it comes to participation in the development programmes right from the lower level up to the national view and that it is only the president who can rectify it.

Some of the district councilors attending the meeting (Photo by Sylvia Katushabe)

"We had a youth councilor's forum day at Uganda Martyrs University in Mpigi district recently. We invited the Minister of Gender, Youth minister and the local government minister but none of them turned up," Ogwal noted.

Ogwal cited the recently concluded international Youth Day which was marked in Jinja district last week where he claims that few among the youth councilors were selected to participate in it.

"Access to the venue was restricted.  Most importantly, however, during the sessions, the President addressed us very well and we are grateful," Ogwal said.

Ogwal however, expressed concern over ‘misappropriation' of the sh700m that was meant to facilitate them.

New Vision, however, could not independently verify the said allegations.  

Efforts to get a comment from the youth minister Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi were also futile as she could not be reached ."It is absurd that at the point of distribution of this money, the youth councilors were harassed, mishandled and beaten, something which suppressed a number of councilors to abandon the event," Ogwal noted.

The youth councilor's forum brings together youth representatives in the municipality and local government councils from sub-county, division, district, municipality and city councils.

"We are also suspicious that the list of youth councilors that was submitted to state house may not be authentic," Ogwal said.

Joseph Luwaga from Bukomansimbi district said, "We cannot sit and watch un-transparent dealings of impunity going on in our country. Our plan is that the money budgeted for youth councilors on International Youth Day and youth councils meetings should be released to them immediately and to the rightful members."

"We seek audience mainly from the President because those surrounding him or working on his behalf have not only let us down but frustrated our attempt to dialogue with him."

Luwaga noted their aim is not only to recover the money in question but to clear what they described as corruption.  "We are not going to sit down until these issues are resolved," Luwaga noted.

By press time the youth were heading to Okello house in Nakaseero to interact with relevant authorities over the matter.