Youth have vowed to shun whoever wants to lead this country in 2016 unless he or she agrees to their demands. The demands were contained in what they called the youth manifesto authored by youth organizations in conjunction with Uganda parliamentary forum on youth affairs led by the female national youth MP Monica Amoding.
Among the demands is one where youth suggest that 40% of all government procurement contracts should be reserved to youth-led businesses which employ youths. They also want the next government to be ready to avail public land to youth in addition to instituting mechanisms to encourage youth involvement in the agricultural sector by promoting the establishment of youth cooperatives.
In a 21 page document, the youth listed five key areas which they said affect them mostly and these include being Jobless, lack of health care for all, few education opportunities, low prioritizing of sports and culture as well as youth participation in decision making.
Amoding says that the biggest challenge facing youth is both un-and underemployment yet there are opportunities to divert youth from anti-social into productive behaviours. She says that if youth demands are catered for it will save this country from facing social unrest, adding that engaging the youth population is vital because they are key to driving economic development. She urges the next government and all actors to take issues of youth participation seriously since they are the majority by coming up with programs that target youth.
The youth want the government to develop a skilled, talented and competitive workforce through access to quality education. The youth also want the next government to enhance talent identification and development as a means of stimulating social and economic wellbeing of young people. They further demanded the next government to establish community sports recreation centres to harness talent and review the structure of major sports in consultation with key stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan of action to revitalize of the sector.