Gulu district held a successful belated Youth Day celebration on October 3, 2023, at Omel Sub-County headquarters. Both the locals and political leaders at all levels lauded His Excellency General Yoweri Museveni Kaguta for supporting various communities with different government projects, thereby improving their lives and household income.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Accelerating Recovery from COVID-19 and Full Implementation of the 2030 Agenda: The Roles of Youth.”
The Chief Guest of honor at the occasion was Deputy Resident District Commissioner of Gulu district, Mr. James Cosmas Okidi. During his speech, Mr. Cosmas emphasized that Youth Day is designated for celebrating the potential of youth and taking stock of what has been accomplished in the areas of youth empowerment, growth, and development.
Mr. Cosmas highlighted the four sectors of the economy for social and economic transformation, strongly stressing that for a country to transition into a money-based economy, the population must embrace and practice these four sectors: Agriculture, Industrialization, Services, and ICT.
He cited Acholi sub-region’s abundant and fertile soil suitable for animal husbandry, fisheries, and crop production, urging the utilization of this opportunity to employ over 60% of the youth population. He encouraged large-scale production to facilitate requests for government-funded value addition machines for their produce.
Regarding services such as education, health, electricity, transport, hotels, restaurants, tourism, and boda boda operations, Mr. Cosmas noted that the government has created favorable conditions for their growth, including ensuring peace and security nationwide. He mentioned the construction of secondary schools per sub-county, upgrading health centers, and developing numerous tourist attractions as sources of employment opportunities for the youth.
Mr. Cosmas urged the youth to embrace the Presidential Youth Skilling Centers initiated by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, emphasizing the importance of vocational training skills for the country’s transition to a money-based economy. He also highlighted the government’s commitment to supporting hardworking Ugandans through income-generating programs such as PDM, Emyooga Youth Livelihood, UWEP, disability grants, and older person grants to combat poverty.
He stressed the youth’s role in advancing Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and urged them to refrain from harmful practices such as alcoholism, smoking, drug use, environmental degradation, and to take charge in protecting Uganda by being patriotic role models in society.
Mr. Cosmas advised the youth to embrace the Presidential Youth Skilling Hubs and work toward a prosperous future.