President Museveni spoke to a group of youth leaders from western Uganda at his Kisozi farm, telling them the country's future requires a major change in thinking. He said young people should stop focusing on hard-to-get government jobs and instead enter fields where they can build wealth. He outlined four key sectors for this shift: commercial agriculture, manufacturing and artisan work, services, and information technology.
He stressed that public sector positions are too few to solve youth unemployment, noting the entire government workforce is under half a million people. Most of his own children, he revealed, work in private business rather than for the state, except his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who serves in the military. The President pointed to examples like a successful poultry farmer from Kamuli to show how starting small in agriculture can work. For manufacturing, he suggested group projects like maize milling. He described IT as a special gateway to global jobs, such as online auditing for foreign companies.
The meeting focused heavily on the Parish Development Model as the main vehicle for funding. Museveni defended the structure, which allocates thirty percent of parish funds to youth, arguing that creating separate programs would be inefficient. He acknowledged concerns that household heads sometimes control the money meant for young people, suggesting priority should go to homes where no one has yet received support. NRM Vice Chairperson for the Western Region, Jonard Asiimwe, mentioned a party decision to add more money specifically for local leaders in future disbursements.
Ahead of the next election, the youth leaders formally declared their support for Museveni as the ruling party's candidate. Their representative, Mathias Kato, praised the President's leadership on peace and youth programs, pledging to mobilize votes across the western region. Other discussion points included better ideological training for young party members and expanding the number of government skilling hubs.
He stressed that public sector positions are too few to solve youth unemployment, noting the entire government workforce is under half a million people. Most of his own children, he revealed, work in private business rather than for the state, except his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who serves in the military. The President pointed to examples like a successful poultry farmer from Kamuli to show how starting small in agriculture can work. For manufacturing, he suggested group projects like maize milling. He described IT as a special gateway to global jobs, such as online auditing for foreign companies.
The meeting focused heavily on the Parish Development Model as the main vehicle for funding. Museveni defended the structure, which allocates thirty percent of parish funds to youth, arguing that creating separate programs would be inefficient. He acknowledged concerns that household heads sometimes control the money meant for young people, suggesting priority should go to homes where no one has yet received support. NRM Vice Chairperson for the Western Region, Jonard Asiimwe, mentioned a party decision to add more money specifically for local leaders in future disbursements.
Ahead of the next election, the youth leaders formally declared their support for Museveni as the ruling party's candidate. Their representative, Mathias Kato, praised the President's leadership on peace and youth programs, pledging to mobilize votes across the western region. Other discussion points included better ideological training for young party members and expanding the number of government skilling hubs.
