Museveni promised fundamental change; where is it?

Unemployment, poverty and social Injustice are some of the key problems facing the young people in Uganda.

To ably deal with these concerns requires a concerted effort from all Ugandans. It's however important to note that major responsibility rests on those who have authority in our case the NRM government.

Since it's capture of power in 1986, there has been inadequate response to the challenges facing the young people.

After his capture of power the president made the following statement “No one should think that what is happening today is a mere change of guard; it is a fundamental change in the politics of our country”

I will pose the question: Has there been a fundamental change?.

Reading from the 10-point programme, the NRA promised to bring a new dawn and better future for Ugandans who had long suffered under poor leadership.

Very many promises were made such as fighting corruption, ensure basic services and economic opportunities reach all Ugandans but alas we have since returned to worst.

One of the solutions that has been initiated the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) is rather a fictional one or call it a myth.

This is just a story government tells to make us think they are doing something worthwhile but in actual sense it lacks Substance.

The YLP is in place but lacks any value in realising or addressing the inequality and seriously improving the lives of young people.

One philosopher said that Justice is achieved when people can easily see themselves identified and recognised.

This is not the case in my motherland Uganda, young people who actually form a formidable force have continuously been ignored and this is a time bomb or could even been reason for the current insecurities in various communities.

Why has NRM failed to run a cadre identification/recruitment department, this clearly shows that even those young people who have shown loyalty to the ruling party have continuously been ignored.

Cadre identification and placement is would be one way to address the challenges facing young people but I don't think the President has taken keen interest in this.

The governments inadequate response to challenges affecting young people reproduces prejudicial ways of knowing young people. In so doing the youth exacerbate the challenges they are meant to help resolve.

Restricting the youths access to income support aligns well with the stereotypes we grew up to such as being considered lazy, irresponsible, incompetent, incapable of making good decisions and not being trusted.

Those with authority or within government continue to practice prejudice against youth which means that the young generations interests are often ignored.

If the government is serious about tackling the challenges facing the youth such as unemployment, poverty etc then it should take keen interest in fighting the age based prejudice.

The young generation needs to be given a greater role in the peace building, development and decision making of Uganda.

Are young people involved in budgetary process, are they consulted especially on challenges they face in relation to the projects government allocates to them?

Has government taken time to review feedback on the said programs?

To be honest little effort has been done to achieve the young generations wishes, these are often or frequently sidelined.

After over 30 years at the helm now, it's becoming difficult to differentiate between the state, NRM, and President Museveni.

The fusion of these has brought about so many problems.

I will conclude by saying the way the youth feel about the NRM currently just reflects the fact that they have been ignored by the government.