The Nnaabagereka Development Foundation has presented a youth development proposal aimed at improving the livelihoods of young people in the Kingdom of Buganda.
The proposal was shared with senior technical officers serving in ministries under the government of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II during a consultative meeting held at the Kingdom headquarters in Bulange, Mengo on Monday.
The meeting aimed to gather ideas and professional input from the officers in order to strengthen the proposal. The initiative seeks to equip young people with practical and specialized training that will enable them to improve their livelihoods, particularly by starting their own businesses and becoming economically independent.
The proposal was presented by the Executive Director of the Nnaabagereka Development Foundation, Andrew Adrian Mukiibi, who explained that the initiative focuses on addressing key challenges affecting young people, particularly limited income opportunities. He noted that the programme is intended to help youth achieve their dreams and improve their living standards.
Mukiibi revealed that the programme is designed to run for five years and is expected to conclude in 2030. He encouraged all young people to take advantage of the opportunities that will be created under the initiative and ensure that no youth is left behind.
Also speaking at the meeting was the Buganda Kingdom Minister for Youth, Sports and Arts, Robert Sserwanga, who called upon government officers to create avenues that attract and actively involve young people in development programmes implemented through various ministries. He said such efforts would help uplift youth and improve their socio-economic conditions.
Sserwanga further explained that fear is one of the biggest barriers preventing many people from starting productive work or business ventures. He emphasized the need to remove this fear among young people so that they can confidently participate in economic activities and improve their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, the Head of Public Service in the Office of the Katikkiro, Josephine Nantege Ssemanda, noted that although transforming the lives of young people may appear challenging in this era, the Buganda Kingdom remains committed to creating solutions that address the gap.
“Transforming the lives of young people may seem difficult, but we have gathered here as government officers together with the Nnaabagereka Development Foundation to uplift the youth from the challenges we know they face. As technical officers, we have been presented with a well-prepared proposal outlining how we can collectively develop a unified plan to improve the livelihoods of young people in Buganda,” she said
“We have shared ideas on various issues and proposed different approaches based on the mandates of each ministry so that they can come up with different projects that will be incorporated into a joint programme coordinated by the Nnaabagereka Development Foundation.”
The youth development proposal is still in the consultation phase, and more input from experts and stakeholders is being collected. Once the consultations are completed, the proposal will be submitted to Cabinet for approval before it is formally implemented.
