The Presidency Minister, Hon. Milly Babirye Babalanda has tipped the youths in Kayunga district to take advantage of the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga to improve their livelihoods.
The Minister said the Funds target people like youth who have artisan knowledge and projects.
She was on Wednesday June 21, 2023 giving her keynote address while officiating at the first graduation ceremony of Ahmed Sseguya Memorial Technical Institute, Kayunga.
She was convinced that with the skills acquired, the graduands were well positioned to tap into these funds from government.
The minister who also heads the Presidency and directly supervises RDCs, instructed the Kayunga Resident District Commissioner to ensure inclusion of the skilled youth into government programs.
The minister retaliated government commitment to ensure that more Ugandans are skilled.
“Countries that have taken off with their economies have relied a great deal on skilling their citizens. Japan, China, Singapore, India and Malaysia are all examples of nations that have developed their human resource through vocational skilling programs,” she added.
She therefore lauded private vocational skilling centers that have always backed government.
She however cautioned the graduands against reckless lifestyle and advised them to avoid engaging in acts that can put their lives at risk of acquiring deadly diseases such as AIDs.
She also tasked them to think along the lines of creating their own jobs rather than seeking employment.
The Minister expressed gratitude to the people of Kayunga for remembering the late Ahmed Sseguya who was very instrumental in the protracted war that brought the NRM government into power in 1986.
“When I see that you named this school after him, it is a sign that you value his contributions.What I am seeing today is exactly what comrade Sseguya and others were fighting for,” she said.
“The levels of literacy and College Education were still very poor by the time of the struggle. However, as you can see today; we have numerous universities, very many tertiary institutions and hundreds of secondary and primary schools.”
Hon. Babalanda also urged the leaders of Kayunga to join hands to promote the government programs of PDM and Emyooga. She said these two programs are aimed at improving the welfare of the people.
“The funds do not have many conditionalities for access unlike the Banks and Money Lenders.If we can utilize well the money received, it will change the lives of our people,” she stated.
“I advise the members of the public not to pay bribes to access these funds. The citizens should report those who are asking for bribes to the RDCs/RCCs. If it is the RDC/RCC asking for the bribe you are requested to report them to the Minister.”
On the issue of value addition, the Minister advised the people of Kayunga to take advantage of the fertile soils in the district to promote commercial agriculture.
“There is plenty of maize and other cereals in the district. Please process the maize and all the cereals because these can fetch higher prices. Take advantage of the machinery provided by the CAIIP program to add value to all your produce.”
Hon. Babalanda was also happy to note that complaints about land grabbing and illegal evictions have reduced in Kayunga.
The Principal of Ahamed Seguya Memorial Technical Institute, Hadijah Nakakande Ssenyondo commended President Museveni for directing that the institution be renamed in remembrance of the late Ahamed Seguya, a veteran NRA soldier who worked towards the development of Kayunga.
Ms. Nakakande decried the low enrollment in the Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) compared to other academia. She called upon parents to encourage their children especially the youth to enroll for skills training irrespective of their academic levels.
Ms. Ritah Namuwenge, the Emyooga National Coordinator, disclosed that the President is pained that some Ugandans are still poor and that is why he has been coming up with several poverty alleviation programs to deal with the problem.
“H.E the President knows that we want to work but the challenge is capital so through Emyooga we are giving you seed capital to work and make you rich,” Ms. Namuwenge told the graduands.
Dr. Dan Bubaale, the Kayunga District Education Officer (DEO) said his only prayer is that institutions such as Ahamed Seguya Memorial Technical Institute are elevated into skills training universities. He said with such a step, Uganda will be able to achieve the pillars of its socio-economic transformation agenda.
“Skilling Uganda is the way to go. I’m a living example,” Dr. Bubaale said.
