Some of the Alebtong district leaders with a section of youth at a recent function in the district. Photo by Simon Eluk.
By Simon Eluk
Alebtong
Alebtong district local government is struggling to recover shs1.52b given to 168 groups under the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP).
The YLP is a Government of Uganda programme aimed at providing interest-free revolving funds to unemployed and poor youths aged between 18 to 30 years including but not limited to school dropouts, youth living in slums, and those without formal education, single parents, youths with disabilities, or living with HIV/AIDS.
Introduced in the financial year 2014/2015, the fund is also aimed at enabling the youths to acquire marketable vocational skills and tool kits for self-employment, and other income-generating activities to improve their livelihood.
However, many youth groups have reportedly failed to repay the money because of several reasons.
Bruno Owino, the chairperson of Orea Youth Fishery Group in Aloi Town Council in Alebtong district, said the group received shs11.3m in the 2017/18 financial year to venture into fish farming.
Owino, however, explained that upon receiving the money, many unprecedented challenges emerged, partly because they were not given any training, causing the collapse of the project at inception.
Owino told GNNA that the group decided to do fish farming without any technical guidance, and their supplier bought for them very poor quality fingerlings.
“Since we were still new and didn’t have any idea about fish farming and didn’t get enough training, we didn’t know how to handle and our fish died,” Owino said.
Christine Aping’s group has however done well because of what she described as the commitment and focus of the group members.
Aping, who is the chairperson of Apado Youth Grain Millers in Alebtong Town Council, said their group received shs10m in 2022/2023 financial year to venture into grain milling.
She argued that many groups collapsed because of lack of commitment to the business, greed, lack of focus, and laxity.
Robert Ocen, the district youth council chairperson, said the youth groups that were given the funds started enterprises such as piggery, poultry, carpentry and joinery, produce business, goat rearing, and animal traction among others.
Only shs183m recovered
However, nearly 10 years later, the district has recovered only shs183m out of the shs1.52b given out.
According to Ocen, the recovery is low because several groups collapsed due to laxity, and the false perception that the money was given by President Museveni to the youths as appreciation for voting him back into power.
Ocen said they have given the recovered funds to 12 old groups as directed by the Ministry, and created five new groups to benefit.
“We have generated another five groups which will make a total of 17 groups. They are in the pipeline and I think they will receive the money soon,” Ocen said.
Ocen identified the projects so far generated and financed as Awiny Youth Boda Boda, Alang Youth Boda Boda, Orea Youth cage fish farming, Alangobilo Youth Produce Traders, Alebtong West Youth Tents and Chairs, and Alebtong HQ shoe-making.
Other projects include; Abiting Youth Produce Buyers and Selling projects and Abongo Awobe Youth Piggery Projects.
Ocen revealed that they would restrict enterprise selection after realizing that projects like poultry and piggery require close monitoring, yet the youths are relaxed, and all groups that got money for such projects failed.
He added that they are encouraging the beneficiaries to choose animal traction, boda boda riding, and grinding mill projects because youths in such groups are progressing.
Paulino Ogwal, the district YLP Focal Person, also Senior Labour Officer, said they have already given out shs119m out of the recovered funds to 12 groups.
Ogwal explained that most of the groups ran out of business and disintegrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, several other beneficiaries reportedly joined the army and prison forces, while many others went to do farm work in Nwoya district, in Acholi sub-region.
“In this case as a person in charge of the project, where do you start from?” Ogwal asked.
Strategy to recover funds
Ogwal revealed that the district has profiled groups still in business and those that have failed, to help them design strategies to recover the money.
He revealed that the strategy will also include arrests as the last resort since the guideline permits it.
“That is the direction we may take because the response is so poor and the youth have deliberately refused to pay the money,” Ogwal said.
According to Ogwal, the low recovery of the YPL funds is attributed to a lack of commitment by the funded groups, the disintegration of at least 60% of the groups, and the lack of political will to back the technical staff in recovering the funds.
He lauded the newly financed groups especially those doing cattle trade and boda boda business.
“Their repayment is so encouraging because, with cattle trade, you buy and sell, unlike other enterprises.”
District loses hope of recovering funds
David Kennedy Odongo, the chairperson of Alebtong district, said the district is almost giving up pressurizing the youth to repay the money because most of them received the funds and distributed them among themselves.
“Many people don’t have an investment mindset; they only have a consumption mindset. This calls for a serious mindset change if Lango is to economically develop,” Odongo said.
Kenneth Owaa, the district speaker, said as a former youth leader, he witnessed how the money improved the lives of some youth, but is sad that the majority have failed to repay it.
“Some of them are not remitting the money and yet by principle, they are supposed to pay back so that others can also benefit because it is a revolving fund,” Owaa said.
The last financial year the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development directed the district local government to distribute the money recovered under the YLP.
The communication came after the ministry reported that there was poor recovery of money lent out under YLP.
At least 51 districts in Northern, Bunyoro, and Greater Luwero were reported to be performing poorly and defaulting in YLP funds. At least shs129b has so far been given out to different youth groups across the county since the program started in 2014.
According to the 2022 report, Alebtong, Amolatar, and Dokolo are among the top defaulters of the YLP funds in Lango sub-region.
In the Acholi sub-region, Amuru and Agago are the top defaulters. Other districts across the country that have highly defaulted are; Adjumani, Arua, Hoima, Kagadi, Kibaale, Kiboga, Luwero, Nakasongola, Nakaseke, Kakumiro and Kyankwanzi districts among others.
Joshua Kyalimpa, the Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Gender Labour, and Social Development, said they have not given up on the defaulters, because if they do, many groups will stop paying.
Kyalimpa revealed that in October 2023 alone, they recovered shs81m and shs209m in the first quarter of the last financial year.
“The recoveries are picking up and we hope for the best this year,” Kyalimpa said, adding; “Remember there was time lost and youths were under the impression that YLP was no more, now we can see it picking again.”
