“We need all African governments, partners in fight against youth unemployment,” - Nabbanja

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has said that the fight against youth unemployment will require all African governments and development partners to work as one.

Nabbanja said that although government has invested a lot to address the growing concerns of youth, it will need unity with all stakeholders for major progress to be achieved.

Nabbanja made these remarks while addressing the 3rd Youth Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) symposium that convened at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort in Kampala.

“As a continent, we must work with our governments, private sector players and development partners address the issue of unemployment among the youth,” she said.

For the case of Uganda, Nabbanja said that government has always put young people at the centre stage of all its development programs and pledged that they will continue doing even more in this regard.

“Youth take the centre stage of all our programs, it was our idea to have youth representation in Parliament. Today, the Ugandan Parliament has 5 slots reserved for the Youth,” Nabbanja said.

The prime minister also noted that on top of youth representation in Parliament, the 11th Parliament of Uganda is also very youthful.

“We also introduced several other youth structures from village to national level, many young people have been appointed into key positions as Ministers and Permanent Secretaries of government Ministries..” Nabbanja added.

She urged youth from across the continent to embrace peace and coexistence as this is a major driving force for stability and employment.

“Without peace and security, we cannot talk about youth empowerment. If you want to know this, ask young people in places where there are wars,” Nabbanja said.

The 3rd APRM Youth Symposium will run up to July 9.

It’s being convened under the theme, “Repositioning the Yourh Agenda for a Transformative Continent.”