How a corrupt government affects the younger generation

We don’t work hard anymore, we wait our turn to enter a system and join the corruption band and that is why most people think it wrong that Robert Kyagulani called out Mpuuga in public.

By Gore Ruvimbo

We grew up in a corrupt environment to the point we believe only connections are enough to get us somewhere. The good schools, the good jobs even the best tables at a club.

As young people, we have come to believe that there is no reward for hard work. All the toil is to no avail.

The situation is worse for the young woman, a rich man is all she thinks she needs for a life worth living.

So how much damage do corrupt systems have on young people? Here are my two cents:

During my journalism entrepreneurship class, a debate started on whether Mathias Mpuuga was right to get the money or not. A fellow said and I quote, "That is what NRM does, is it new? Mpuuga is not wrong to receive it.”

She simply meant it is a system and now that it is his turn Mpuuga should enjoy it. The fact that the taxpayer’s money is being misused skipped her mind.

The thousands of Uganda’s in areas like Karamoja dying of hunger did not cross her mind. That is what corruption has done to us.

We don’t work hard anymore, we wait our turn to enter a system and join the corruption band and that is why most people think it wrong that Robert Kyagulani called out Mpuuga in public.

Well, it was only right because the ‘gift’ he was meant to receive was Ugandan's hard-earned money.

The other shell to the same story is corruption has become a culture to the point that the very people we vote to represent us in parliament go there to feast with the already corrupt personals whom they claim they want to dethrone.

They are focused until they get there. Now this same mentality is in our young leaders.

The goal is no longer to impact change but to join those who see the misery yet choose to feed themselves first.

A good friend of mine who is a former guild to some prestigious university proudly told me that he enjoyed his term as a guild because of the benefits yet he did not deliver anything to the people who put their vote on him. With a cabinet full of his friends with the same mentality he said, "Corruption did not start with me.”

Look, these are the leaders of tomorrow, so will corruption ever leave us?

So, what kind of world are we creating for young people when we keep impacting the same practices we are supposed to uproot? The world is becoming darker with people who have no regard for human life.

Just yesterday Luzira was given away, seems shallow but people will only understand when those prisoners are overcrowded and they start dying of diseases. Yes, they are prisoners but every life matters.

Youth engagement is pivotal in combating corruption and fostering a culture of integrity. Young people possess immense potential as agents of change, capable of challenging corrupt practices and driving meaningful reform.

Moreover, investing in youth education and civic engagement empowers future generations with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to resist corruption and contribute to the development of just and equitable societies.

As the torchbearers of progress, young people are instrumental in shaping a future free from the shackles of corruption, where integrity, justice, and fairness prevail.

Yes, change starts with the young people only when they are nurtured well by the older people.