President Museveni tells youth to join fight against corruption

President Museveni has reiterated his call to the youths to fight corruption through proper channels.

“Avoid and fight corruption. You don’t have to go on the streets and riot, you fight corruption by following up on government money and know how it’s being spent. Know the figures and in case there’s some misappropriation, write and report to the RDC, if the RDC doesn’t act, we have got other channels,” he said.

Museveni made the remarks while officiating at the International Youth Day Celebrations held at Soroti Core Primary Teachers’ College, Soroti District. The celebrations ran under the theme: “Skills Development for Enhancement of Youth Opportunities”.

The International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12 August, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youths as partners in today’s global society.

He reassured Ugandans that corruption is easy to be dealt with as long as they work together.

“We can finish these corrupt people, they are not a big problem. All we need are facts,” he said.

The president also urged the youths and activists to insist on free education in government schools. According to President Museveni, Ugandans have refused to implement the program yet it would have helped the whole country.

“When we introduced it, we knew why we introduced it. In 1958, when we were in Kyamate, Ntungamo area, the people who went to Mbarara High School were four or five from the whole area. Many children were not going to school at all but even those who went, very few would proceed beyond Primary Six. That’s what we wanted to solve. In my view, we need the implementation of free education in government primary and Secondary schools. Those who are rich can send their children to private schools,” he explained.

On the other hand, President Museveni advised the school-going children to work with their parents during holidays to stabilize their homestead income.

“Many people don’t know that some of us were influenced by the way we grew up. Like in my case, I was a wealth creator from the age of four. Age of four my job was to look after the young cows. By the age of 8, I was looking after the big cows. The children in holidays should participate in wealth creation,” he said.

“I would advise the parents not to over exploit the children like we were exploited. My children and grandchildren now don’t have the same pressure as I had.”

Furthermore, President Museveni encouraged the youths to embrace and understand the four principles of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) of Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-economic Transformation and Democracy for their prosperity.

The president also cautioned the youths against environmental degradation.

On the other hand, President Museveni commended the people of Teso for fighting poverty through commercial agriculture.

“I can see most of the people in Teso are now out of the grass thatched houses and most of them are growing citrus fruits. I have put up new people to look after the factory and we shall stabilise the market.”

The Minister of State for the Youth and Children Affairs, Balaam Barugahara assured the youths that the government is working around the clock to ensure that the challenge of unemployment among them is dealt with.

“Your Excellency, investing in youth skills development is crucial. Such investment supports national peace and stability, enhances resilience and promotes social transformation,” he noted.

The chairperson of the National Youth Council-Uganda, Jacob Eyeru thanked the President for guiding the youth to the right path of attaining education and creating jobs.

“The NRM government also dealt with the issue of our health through immunization. Now we are dealing with the issue of socio-economic transformation,” he said.