Kaliro, (UG):- Youths in Kaliro district have expressed frustration with local politicians who they claim exploit them for political gains without offering tangible benefits. These youths urged the government to empower them to become self-sustainable citizens by 2026.
The youths under their umbrella group of Kaliro district NRM Youths Forum have asked the government to be empowered and benefit through a number of programmes such that they preach the gospel of development other than acting as beggars ahead of the forthcoming 2026 elections.
The youths were meeting the State Minister for Cooperatives, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Bulamogi Northwest constituency in Kaliro district Hon. Fredrick Ngobi Gume at the district headquarters on how best they can be supported to achieve their developmental projects.
Led by their chairperson Mr. Hamfrey Musagala, they asked for farm inputs and said most youths in Kaliro district are in agriculture and it would be better if they modernized their farming from using hand hoes to tractors. The group has got over 6,000 youths.
“Our voices have not been heard for a number of years but we can be better through our farming projects. The government has been giving out hand hoes but we prefer using tractors because this district is mostly for farmers and this can modernize our farming,” Mr. Musagala said.
He appreciated the government for Parish Development Model (PDM) program saying it will help them along with other projects of the group which are intended for development.
Hon Minister Gume commended the youths for coming together and asked them to prioritize value addition to their products, before pledging to support them with some agricultural inputs to enable them to achieve their objective. He also asked them to embrace a saving culture to gather money for SACCO development.
Gume says the district is the leading in the Busoga Sub-region in supporting the NRM party and he pledged to support them by registering their SACCO as well as funding them through his office and promoting their development activities. He commended the team for loving NRM and pledging to campaign for the party in the forthcoming 2026 elections.
“I implore you to embrace value addition to your products. I’m informed you’re dealing in farming and you need to sell maize flour and also utilize the remains as animal feed rather than selling maize itself. We shall keep supporting you whenever you engage in developmental ventures,” Minister Gume said.
The meeting was attended by the Assistant RDC Kaliro district Mr. Naikoli Mathias and other local leaders. Assistant RDC Naikoli commended the youths for coming together and he asked them to be examples to others in the community by changing their lives before preaching development to others.
“It is better that you have come together as a group of youths and I call upon you to be united for the common cause of development. You will find the work of preaching the NRM message very easy in the forthcoming general campaigns when you are transformed, and it is always considered fine to preach what you have tasted. You cannot be poor and you preach wealth, very impossible,” Mr. Naikoli said.
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