Skilling project to equip Karamoja youth

Fifty-nine years after independence, Karamoja Sub-region remains one of the least developed parts of the country with high poverty and unemployment levels, conflict, insecurity, drought, food shortages, and poor service delivery.

But over the years, several programmes have been introduced in the sub-region to stimulate economic growth and address insecurity.

The latest is the establishment of the new zonal industrial hub in Napak District under the Presidential Initiative on Skilling Uganda programme, which seeks to change the mindset of the Karimojong .

Centre is among the 21 zonal industrial hubs in the country that President Museveni allocated Shs130b for their establishment in 2020 following a successful pilot study in Kampala.

While touring the Napak hub at the weekend, the State House Comptroller, Ms Jane Barekye, urged Karamoja leaders to embrace the programme, saying it will create jobs for youths and empower them economically.

Ms Barekye, however, warned the leaders against corruption and discrimination during the selection process of the beneficiaries.

She said they should select the beneficiaries from their own districts so that they apply the skills in their own communities.

“Karamoja should embrace the programme and use it to skill most of the  youthful population. It will lead to mindset change and economic transformation,” Ms Barekye said.

She said the programme will benefit 300 learners every semester and a total of 600 every year. 

Beneficiaries will be equipped with skills in tailoring, shoe making, knitting and weaving, welding, masonry, and confectionary, among others.

Ms Barekye also said the storage facilities (silos) will be constructed at the hub at a free cost. A four-acre demonstration farm will also be set up.

The Napak chairman, Mr John Paul Kodet, said the industrial hub will help them fight cattle rustling because it will rehabilitate youth and transform their mindset to development-oriented activities. 

“The hub could be an opportunity for Karamoja to rehabilitate youths and change their mindset. Karimojong can produce any product if given the necessary training and skilling,” he said.

According to Mr Kodet, the sub-region has enough raw materials, especially skins and hides, which can be supplied to the hub for shoe-making. 

Karamoja leaders asked State House to support the learners with the necessary equipment to enable them easily fit into the job market after acquiring the skills.

The Napak Resident District Commissioner, Mr Moses Kigayi Wamoto, advised Karamoja leaders to use the programme as a unifying factor to the different groups in the region such as the Dodoth, Matheniko, and Jie.

The chief administrative officer, Mr Jackson Byaruhanga, said the programme will also address insecurity by equipping youth with knowledge to liberate themselves economically.

Mr Raymond Kamugisha, the director of Industrial Hubs and Presidential Projects in State House, warned against corruption in the recruitment and selection process of the beneficiaries, saying the programme is free and those found soliciting bribes will be arrested and prosecuted.

The Napak hub will benefit the mainly vulnerable youths, including orphans, young mothers and school-dropouts.

According to Feed the Future, a US government’s global hunger and food security initiative, [Uganda] government’s vision for Karamoja is one of a settled community of commercial crop farmers, wage workers, and commercial livestock farmers engaged in either ranching or dairy farming based on improved breeds of livestock. 

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