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President Museveni has fulfilled his Shs 1.2 billion pledge to ghetto leaders in the Kampala Metropolitan Area, distributing Shs 100 million to each of 12 ghetto SACCOs. This initiative aims to empower local youth by supporting small businesses and encouraging savings.

President Museveni in a group photo with Ghetto leaders at State House Entebbe on July 31, 2024

President Museveni has fulfilled his Shs 1.2bn pledge to ghetto leaders in Kampala Metropolitan Area.

The group which received funds included 100 ghetto youth leaders who are also the heads of the 12 ghetto SACCOs in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono.

Each of the 12 ghetto SACCOs got Shs100 million which the President had promised to give them during a meeting at Kololo Independence Grounds last year.

“From the Shs100 million you can do something for yourselves,” said Museveni during the meeting with Ghetto leaders at State House Entebbe on Wednesday.

“In the villages, we’re encouraging people into commercial farming. It’s good that you have a base here in the town where you have small businesses, artisanship, services like salons and others. Those are areas you should participate in within your groups (constituencies),” he added.

The beneficiaries of the SACCOs are from; Rubaga Kakeeka Zone dwellers, Kasangati Ghetto Community, Kampala Central Division, Nakawa Division, Makindye East, Kawempe South, Makindye west, Kawempe North, Mukono industrial, Kasokoso, Nansana division and Masajja Para Zone ghetto in Makindye.

Museveni in a group photo with the beneficiaries of Shs 1.2bn fund

Political observers say the move is aimed at weakening the opposition’s base in Kampala Metropolitan Area ahead of the 2026 elections.

The Minister of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda thanked President Museveni for the support towards the ghetto people, a manifest that they are part and parcel of Uganda and contribute toward the development of Uganda.

“These people have been trained on how to manage their SACCOs and we are very sure that most of them are now transformed. Those who are yet to transform, will also be transformed,” Hajjat Kabanda said.

The Director of Crime Intelligence and project coordinator, Brig Gen. Christopher Ddamulira said the ghetto project started under the guidance of President Museveni in March 2022 and he has been working on it with his team under the leadership of the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and the State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye.

“Previously, these ghetto youth did not have leadership but one thing which we did was to create leadership from the youth themselves, so we conducted elections through which we got leaders at zone, parish and division level,” said Ddamulira.

He added that the structure was launched by the Minister of Internal Affairs in August 2022 at Lugogo Indoor Stadium and upon the launch, they started on the process of organizing the youths into SACCOs because they noticed that previously a number of people would lobby from the government for the ghetto youths, get resources, which never reach the intended recipients.

“What we did was to form the SACCOs and started training the leaders of those SACCOs on how to manage them and then we carried out the mobilisation to ensure that the members themselves begin to save under those SACCOs,” said Ddamulira.

Savings

“Your Excellency, after you launched them, we went into a super drive and as I speak now, we are talking about 3,280 savers in the 12 SACCOs and before you make available resources that you are going to provide today, the youths on their own had reached Shs13.7m from their own savings. We thank you for fulfilling the pledge that you made to them in Kololo last year,” he added.

Brig. Gen. Ddamulira further noted that the intervention has started yielding fruits by tremendously reducing criminality in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono.

“Even if you look at the Police report that we issue every year, the last report clearly indicated that the crime level has gone down but also in political violence, these are the people that the politicians have always used to cause confusion in Kampala because they felt they didn’t have a stake in what’s happening in the country. All those crimes have reduced Your Excellency, even recently during the planned march to Parliament, we didn’t register a singer ghetto youth getting involved in those things,” Ddamulira asserted.

“Your Excellency, we believe that this project is working very well, and your support will go a long way by making the resources they have been lacking available and we embark on so many projects that we couldn’t implement because of the limitation of funding.”

Mr. Shafik Kalyango, the leader of the ghetto youths, expressed gratitude to President Museveni for empowering the ghetto people through financial and moral support.

He also thanked President Museveni for fulfilling his promise of Shs1.2 billion contribution to their ghetto SACCOs.

“Your Excellency, we have evidence that the money reached our bank accounts,” he said.

“We also thank Gen. Ddamulira, Maj. Emma Kutesa, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and their team for the support and care towards the ghetto people.”

Mr. Kalyango also assured the President that they are now reformed citizens looking forward to working with the government for the socio-economic transformation of the country.

President Museveni with some of the Ghetto youths

Ms. Jackie Nakalema, who is the Vice Chairperson of ghetto youths in Kampala metropolitan Area asked President Museveni to consider them in the PDM program as a special group, saying they have been denied the chance because of their way of living with a perception that they don’t have the capacity to refund the money.

The President promised to instruct the secretariat of Emyooga and PDM to consider the ghetto structure.

The meeting was also attended by the State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye, Maj. Emma Kutesa, the Private Secretary to H.E the President for youth, in agriculture, value addition and export promotion, Dr. Hillary Musoke Kisanja and Nansana Deputy RDC, Mr. Shafiq Ali Nsubuga.