On the occasion of commemorating International Youth Day, a day on which the world remembers the contribution of young people in society and reminds humanity of the responsibility for its young population, the challenge of how to get every young person into the money economy or recruiting them into the ranks of those who can see and smell where the opportunities are is of the paramount importance.
The recently concluded Population and Housing Cencus 2024 revealed that children under 18 account for 50.5% of the population, while those aged 18-30 make up 22.7%, making a total of 73.2%, a majority demographic, as it is in many other countries. This majority demographic is an asset as well as a liability, depending on how the group is mobilised and guided.
The Uganda Government has consciously and wisely set out to keep its youthful population accounted for, mobilised, empowered and engaged in nation building starting from the individual level. Each youth has a chance to utilise the existing enabling environment to chart a path to whom and what they want to become or to achieve. All they need are mentors that can direct them in the right direction and push them to achieve their full potential. The bigger task is for the individual “leader of tomorrow” to plant an own mustard seed that should sprout and grow into a great tree to shield one from the uncertainties of the future.
Of the millions of youths, majority are school-goers, another segment is in the world of work-either self-employed or entrepreneurial- and others employed, in the public and private sector. I honour and congratulate all young people concentrating on their studies or striving to find a formula for prosperity. For these, it’s only a matter of time before their big break comes.
There is a possibility that some youths are neither in school nor in the work world for reasons other than lack of opportunity.
They live on the backs of others-including parents, always full of regret and despair, easily derailed and manipulated. Why those gainfully engaged are relatively well off, they also seek for better opportunities, but for those struggling to find their place, each Youth Day commemoration should heighten the world’s attention to how they can be helped to overcome the personal apathy and surrounding influences that deny them a chance to excel or survive on their own.
A very concerning trend has cropped up whereby children are increasingly zeroing in on the property of their parents, even threatening them with menace for their share of land, houses and other benefits. Those parents were once youths. How did they create wealth and amass assets that their children are fighting over after their (parents’) demise or even when still alive? What does that say about the new generations? Have we lost out nose for wealth creation at a time we have a Government that advocates and supports that idea as the engine for prosperity?
In short, we have parents to learn from, role models to inspire us and then leaders to support “our hustles”, as they say. to fail to succeed will be hard to explain when today’s youths are the parents and grandparents.
I recently saw a meme composed of two photos-one was of a young woman wrapped with a lesu and in the garden, all muddied, tilling the land while the other was of another young woman in a club holding a glass of alcohol and dancing with an outstretched back side (twerking) in a short skirt. The caption was: “Building the future vs eating the future today.” Except for a miraculous turnaround, you can guess who ended up nowhere. Not to say that leisure is bad but leisure minus work or planning is disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately, in a lot of circumstances, this lesson is learnt when it’s too late.
I, therefore, urge young Ugandans not to miss early lessons to succeed.
Leaders should take the interests of youths as the hallmark of their time in office. They should be encouraged to be productive and to embrace Government programmes. Emyooga, Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and Parish Development Model (PDM) were conceptualised with the young population in mind. (Educate or) empower the young (generation) and guarantee the country a place in the future. Leave them out and destroy the future!
Luckily, Uganda’s youths have not been ignored. There is no idea for their empowerment and improvement that is not under consideration. The worries and pressures being faced are simply the pangs of a collective breakthrough in constricting an economy that will eventually accommodate everyone. It’s just a matter of time! Through the various wealth creation initiatives, job-seeking youths can create their own jobs in the midst of the job market squeeze, earn income, save and reinvest for tomorrow.
Preceding generations of youths didn’t have such “privileges”. President Museveni, during his youthful days, certainly didn’t have such an opportunity- of direct injection of a cash boost for business from Government; the same as Dr. Kizza Besigye and others from those senior generations. Therefore, today’s youths, use the benefits of the NRM revolution and lessons gathered over time to your advantage!
With the freedom and democratic space in place, it’s possible to advocate and push for more interventions without destroying what is in place or selling out to the schemes of strangers and manipulative players. Happy International Youth Day!!
*The author is the Deputy Presidential Press Secretary*
Contact: faruk.kirunda@statehouse.go.ug
0776980486/0783990861
