Doreen Awinyi (not real name), a single mother of five, was elated when President Yoweri K. Museveni announced the Presidential Initiative for Skilling for Youth.
She quickly enrolled her firstborn daughter, Winnie, who had stopped in S2 due to a lack of school fees. Winnie, a S2 dropout, was excited to continue with her education and quickly chose to do bakery, which she had a passion for.
Winnie did well, and upon completion of her course, the president gave her and her intake ‘entandikwa’ (seed money), which she used to begin her business and help out her mother in one way or another.
Winnie’s is one of the numerous success stories to come out of the presidential skilling program, but there are many others that aren’t so encouraging.
After her daughter’s success, Awinyi thought she’d take her second child, Patricia, for the same program since she had been languishing at home since dropping out of school. According to Awinyi, this time around, the story was different.
On a Monday morning, Patricia and her mother headed out to Wandegeya to register for a course. They left home as early as 5 a.m. and were at the Northern wing, Wandegeya market, where the registration was taking place, by 530a.m. According to Patricia, her mother and herself were among the first to arrive at the registration hub and were directed to make a line in order to get a card. She was fifth in line.
However, by the time the registration process began, Patricia found she had been passed by a number of people who the registration authorities kept putting in front of her. She was nearly 100th in line when she inquired, and she was told she hadn’t paid ‘booking fees’, which was why she was being moved back.
“I was in so much shock because I was early, but people who came hours after me were put in front of me. I didn’t understand what was happening until they asked me for a booking fee,” Patricia stated.
According to Awinyi, Patricia’s mother, when she inquired about the booking fee since she hadn’t heard about it the first time around, she was told she had to pay Shs50,000 to reserve her daughter a slot.
“I hadn’t carried that amount of money because I didn’t know it was needed, and honestly, I didn’t have it. The first time I brought my daughter, we weren’t asked for this money,” Awinyi stated.
More and more people passed Patricia, and she ended up not getting a card, which meant she couldn’t join the program. Even after pleading and begging with the registration officers, she was sent home empty-handed.
Awinyi and Patricia’s story isn’t a unique one. Many citizens have come out to decry the corruption at the registration centers of the presidential skilling program.
Brandon, an 18-year-old S4 dropout, was also subjected to this maltreatment at another hub of the program. Brandon, an orphan who dropped out of school due to financial difficulty, got wind of the program from a relative. He quickly made arrangements to go and register, and had all his documents in order.
He was told by the relative to go as early as possible since competition was stiff. He was at the Kigowa Catholic Church hub as early as 4 a.m. and had to wait for the gate to be opened. He was the first one there. At around 6 a.m., after a few others had arrived, a gate-man only identified as Vinyi appeared and ordered them to make a line, which they did.
“After making us line up, he said there was an entry fee of shs25,000 that had to be paid before we were allowed in,” Brandon said. “I was in disbelief because I was not told about any entry fee, but since I had moved with some money, I paid it. A few others left since they couldn’t afford the cost,” he continued.
According to Brandon, after they had been let in, they were told to line up again in order to receive a card for registration. However, this time too, a registration officer came around and started collecting registration fees. He wanted Shs50,000 from each participant.
“At this point, I only had money for transport back home; I couldn’t afford to pay this hefty amount of money and didn’t get the card. Those who paid got the card, and the rest of us were sent back home with nothing,” he said.
Brandon stated that he was sent away with over 50 other youth who had traveled a significant distance to participate in the program. These and other instances have emerged in recent months, posing a threat to the program, which is otherwise an extraordinary undertaking by the president.
President Yoweri K. Museveni set up the Skilling Initiative with the aim of pulling underprivileged youth out of poverty and into the money making economy.
The centers train youth in carpentry, fabrication and welding, shoe-making, embroidery, tailoring, weaving, hairdressing, knitting, baking, crafts, and stone-cutting. In addition, there are plans to introduce financial literacy for the youth so they can manage their enterprises better.
The program has so far skilled and funded 14,448 youth and 36,300 women. The training is free of charge and requires no prior educational qualifications and local languages are used for instruction.
This great initiative by the President is being threatened by a few rotten tomatoes who do not have the country at heart. A corruption-free Uganda is necessary for the development of the country. The officers tasked with service delivery should embody the national pillars of development, which are patriotism, socioeconomic transformation, democracy, and Pan-Africanism.
