Create a leveled playing field for youth

"The heritage of our nation relies not only on our agility to leverage opportunities for young people but also on creating equal platforms that favor all"

A fact that the future of this country depends on the equitable, proper investment in young people and that we are not doing exactly that, is to amputate life from its base. Government programs directed toward addressing youth issues have both fallen short and are often discriminative.The heritage of our nation relies not only on our agility to leverage opportunities for young people but also on creating equal platforms that favor all. 

I was recently part of a team at Reignite Africa that was, as part of organizational strategic planning, engaged in a rapid qualitative assessment with youth leaders from Mayuge and Rukungiri districts. The aim of the assessment was to understand the nature and challenges of youth leadership, participation, and contribution to policy and governance processes at the district and lower levels.There were glaring differences between the two focus groups (one from each district). On one hand was a group of enthusiastic young leaders from Rukungiri that reported a more active engagement in national affairs, but with employment challenges for their electorate. On the other was a group surrounded by hopelessness as a result of a broken system that shared a myriad of challenges young people in their different sub counties face that ranged from child marriages to substance abuse.Whereas both regions reported high unemployment of youth and perpetual corruption of government officials, there were overarching differences. For instance, youth leaders from Mayuge had never benefited from the youth livelihood fund at all unlike many of their counterparts from Rukungiri who reported receiving the fund on behalf of youth groups they represent at the district level. Additionally,whereas both groups had not received formal induction trainingfrom government for the role they currently hold, those in Rukungiri had that opportunity from their political parties and NGO’s. In short, those in Rukungiri were not as despondent.Such differences are perpetuated by the political-economy of the country.

It is a right not a privilege for all young people to get an education as it increases their opportunities to find decent work and contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities. However, a UBOS Education Monograph Report, 2017 revealed higher literacy rates in Kigezi region and central (higher than the national average of 72%) compared to the East and Karamoja sub-region (less than 24%). If education is supposed to be the most reliable opportunity equalizer,then such differences in literacy levels are tragic

                                                      

Besides, inclusive political institutions create inclusive economic institutions that work for all.  Therefore, in adopting a holistic approach to address youth issues, it is important to pay attention to the nuances among youth from different regions and backgrounds. Like Robinson and Daron assert in their book, Why nations fail,extractive political institutions concentrate power in hands of a few who in-turn disproportionately distribute resources to benefit minority groups.Differences are hence created and advanced by political favoritism in the first place. And so it is naïve to categorize youth and their issues-from unemployment to ideological disorientation- as uniform.

World over, meaningful participation of youth in the affairs of a country is what puts the nation on the right development trajectory.Therefore, if the future of this country lies with the youth, it is only prudent to adopt context-specific strategies that direct national policies and programs more equitably, lest we risk deepening regional imbalances and the evils that come with it.

Enock Jjumba Ssentongo is an

Economist at The Economic Hub Uganda (EHU) and also

a  policy advocate at Reignite Africa.