The State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi has raised alarm over political interference in the implementation of Uganda’s Youth Livelihood Program (YLP) and Women Entrepreneurship initiatives.
Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee on Gender, Labour & Social Development, the minister revealed that political leaders are misleading beneficiaries telling them that government funds are a reward (“akasimo”) rather than a repayable revolving fund crippling efforts to recover the money.
The Youth Livelihood Program, launched a decade ago, was designed to uplift young people and women through financial support for business and entrepreneurship. However, mismanagement, misinformation, and political exploitation are now threatening its sustainability.
According to Minister Balaam, some politicians are turning the program into a political tool falsely assuring beneficiaries that the funds are a “thank you” from the government rather than a loan meant to be repaid.
This has led to mass defaults making it nearly impossible for the Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development to recover the money and reinvest in new beneficiaries.
“These programs were meant to empower youth and women economically but political figures are hijacking them for their own gains,” Balaam stated.
“We now have a situation where people think they don’t have to pay back, which is unsustainable.”
The failure to recover funds threatens to collapse the entire initiative leaving thousands of young Ugandans and women without financial opportunities.
Reports indicate that some youth groups received funds but never launched businesses while others spent the money on personal luxuries due to the misleading information that it was a political gift.
