Minister Babalanda Hails Reformed Buwenge Youth Group

BUWENGE, JINJA – The Minister for the Presidency and Member of Parliament for Budiope West Constituency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, has commended a reformed youth group in Buwenge Town Council that has transitioned from political violence to productive enterprise.

Minister Babalanda made remarks yesterday while officiating a fundraising ceremony for the DAFAT & NIMO Youth Development Group and Catering Services in Jinja District, a group she described as a model of mindset change and self-reliance.

According to the Minister, the group was previously notorious for being used by some political actors in Jinja to perpetrate violence, culminating in the tragic shooting incident in Buwenge during the LC1 elections that claimed the lives of two people.

“When H.E. the President delegated me to convey his sympathies to the bereaved families, I established the root cause of the problem. I subsequently engaged some of these youths and counselled them to reform and embrace a more constructive path,” Babalanda revealed.

She expressed satisfaction that the youths heeded the guidance and have since formed a community-driven development initiative focused on offering catering and other services to the people of Jinja as a means of earning a decent living.

“This is the spirit of innovation and self-reliance that our nation needs,” she said.

In her address, Babalanda conveyed warm greetings from H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Kataaha Museveni, the Secretary to the Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande, and the entire staff of the Office of the President.

She commended the leadership of Jinja District for prioritizing youth empowerment, noting that the youth are not only leaders of tomorrow but also partners in development today.

Babalanda thanked members of DAFAT & NIMO for responding to President Museveni’s call for hard work as a pathway out of household poverty, saying their initiative demonstrates patriotism and responsibility.

She also applauded the security team of Jinja District for restoring sanity in Buwenge through mindset-change meetings aimed at curbing criminality and urged district leaders to maintain a cordial working relationship with security agencies and to put behind them differences that emerged during the general elections in the interest of unity and development.

Addressing the broader youth, the Minister urged those who did not have the opportunity to attain formal education to embrace vocational and practical skills, stressing that wealth creation and formal academic qualifications are not synonymous – what matters is productivity and discipline.

She encouraged the youth to take advantage of government wealth-creation programs including the Youth Livelihood Program, Emyooga, the Parish Development Model (PDM) and the Four-Acre Model.

Minister Babalanda further cautioned the youth of Buwenge against drug and substance abuse, noting that responsible citizenship and national service require sobriety, discipline and focus.

She also called on women to work hard and not wait for support from men, saying that when women are economically empowered, families, communities and the national economy are transformed.

She appealed to parents to desist from sending children to work in sugarcane plantations at the expense of their education, emphasizing that every child deserves an opportunity to learn and build a better future.

As a gesture of support, the Minister contributed Shs 5 million to the DAFAT & NIMO Youth Development Group and Catering Services to boost their development initiative.

The fundraising ceremony brought together the Jinja District Woman MP, Hon. Tibyaze Peace, RPC, RDC, DRDC, ARDCs, area leaders and well-wishers.