The State Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development responsible for Children and Youth Affairs, Mr Balaam Barugahara, has called on the government to grant amnesty to young people who have defaulted on billions of shillings owed to the Youth Livelihood Fund Program.
He intends to propose this waiver to the Cabinet and Parliament, noting that many beneficiaries are currently in hiding due to unpaid loans. Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee on Gender on Tuesday, Barugahara argued that pursuing and arresting defaulters would likely be more expensive than writing off the debts.
“We should find a common position to support all young people. For those who fail to pay, as government, we may decide to encourage them and give them a period of grace to pay slowly because when they received the money, they were youth but they are old now,” he said on Tuesday.
His comments followed Nakaseke Central MP Allan Mayanja’s inquiry regarding the recovery of funds from the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship and Youth Livelihood Programs.
Barugahara attributed the defaults to challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of beneficiary guidance, urging Parliament to consider canceling the debts.
