OVER 800M OUT: MOYO DISTRICT STRUGGLES TO RECOVER YOUTH LIVELIHOOD FUNDS

By Tasia Doreen

Moyo

Over eight hundred millions shillings disbursed under the youth livelihood program in Moyo district has still remained unrecovered from the beneficiaries.
The program implementation started in 2014-2015 financial year in the district which disbursed 899,828,800 shillings to109 groups with total number of 1,344 beneficiaries, out of which only 120,458,792shs was recovered.

This was revealed in a stakeholders engagement meeting with the youth leaders held on the February 21st 2024 at Moyo peoples hall.

Mr.  Dima Steven Logi the district focal person for the youths livelihood program   explained that a lot of money of about 779,370,008 shillings disbursed under the program the financial 2014-2015 is still with the youths adding  that there were groups that were supported currently in the program that have not been captured. ‘‘There were eight groups also supported recently in the financial year 2022-2023 with 78,000,000 shillings totaling to over 900,000,000 shillings disbursed in the district ,’’he stated

He further noted that there is need for concerted efforts to see how the money can be recovered since it is evolving fund narrating that most of the youths are on the run since most of their businesses collapsed and are unable to pay back the money.

The district community development officer Moyo, Mr. Anyama David pointed that the government policy has strategies of recovering the funds which includes announcing the groups on radio, blacklisting the groups from all government programs and taking them to police to make statements.  

Mr. Palanda Peter the youth chairperson Aluru sub county said that it has been realized that the youths are failing to pay back the money which is affecting its initial objective of empowering the youth’s development through employment.

Moini Emmanuel Obote the youth councilor Moyo sub county urged the youths to own such government programs designed to improve their livelihood other than misusing the funds saying it’s very embarrassing to hear that such huge amounts of money has not been recovered from the beneficiaries.

The district youth chairperson Isadru Peter noted that the youth leaders have taken the initiative to follow up on these groups to ensure that the money is recovered explaining that the selection of the beneficiaries was not proper since some of the funds were not given to the target groups.

The Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) is Government of Uganda financed program designed as one of the interventions of Government in response to the high unemployment rate and poverty among the youth in the country.

YLP has had a positive contribution of 4% to job creation in Uganda. This has been achieved through the creation of over 200,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs through multiplier effects at household and community levels.

COVER PHOTO: Moyo district local government officials during a meeting at Moyo people’s hall By Tasia Doreen