Teso Youth Agenda Demands Audience with President Museveni Over Unfulfilled Promises

By Steven Enatu

SOROTI

The Teso Youth Agenda, a group representing young people from Teso Sub region, is demanding an audience with President Museveni to discuss challenges facing youths in the area.

The group’s leadership expressed this during a press conference held on Wednesday, 7^th August, 2024 at Soroti City.

The group’s spokesperson, Francis Orisa, expressed frustration over unfulfilled promises made to the organization, including funding for district-level groups and skilling hubs.

According to Orisa, despite the presence of educational institutions like, Soroti University, Soroti Civil Aviation, a notable number of youths from Teso are unable to access them.

Teso youths in different forums have kept on asking and demanding the government of Uganda to consider them also in the state scholarship into the East African aviation school which is found in Soroti city. This they say would lift up the Education levels and add up the professionals in Teso.

They say parents and guardians cannot afford the tuition fees for their children to enroll for better courses like in the Aviation school and in Soroti University of Science and Technology which is just a glance away from their homesteads.

“We have the aviation school here but how many students from Teso are there? Government needs to start prioritizing our sons and daughters in the region here who qualify for scholarships to also enroll for education at that aviation school,” he said.

The group also criticized the lack of representation in the Office of the President, with only one person from Teso holding a position.

The chairperson Isaac Onyait emphasized that the upcoming Youth Day celebration on August 12th should serve as a reminder to the President of his unfulfilled pledges.

The group had opened accounts at regional and district levels, as well as SACCO groups, but are yet to receive any funding for two years now.

“We mobilzed people across Teso region to endorse President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as a sole candidate. During this day, even her Excellency the Vice President Jessica Alupo promised us 50million. We opened a region account and at district levels and it’s sad that we haven’t received anything,” he said.

Other unfulfilled promises include the distribution of 19 heifers to each member of the youth council and walking tractors for youth leaders. The Teso Youth Agenda is calling on leaders in the region to listen to their concerns and take action to address them.

Soroti City Youth Councilor, John Junior Okwii Ekutelek, noted that the issues they are presenting to the President are concerns of all youths across the district. “We need his audience; we have seen him meet youths in Kampala, even in the ghetto. We also have silent issues affecting us. Our top leaders aren’t united, and it’s a reason we want to face the Fountain of Honor,” Okwii said.

The Teso Youth Agenda’s demands come as a reminder of the need for leaders to prioritize the needs and concerns of young people in the region. The group’s call for an audience with the President highlights the urgency of addressing the challenges facing Teso youths.

International Youth Day is celebrated annually on 12 August to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and to celebrate the potential of youth as active partners in the global society. This year the national function will take place at Asuret Core PTC with his Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda as the chief guest.

International Youth Day 2024 (IYD) is themed “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.” It emphasizes the role of digital technology in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).