Balam Barugahara, the newly appointed Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, has said he is not in Cabinet to recruit youth to the MK Project but rather to fix the problem of unemployment in Uganda.
Addressing journalists at Parliament following his vetting by the Appointments Committee on Monday, Barugahara said that the youth will be offered skills given their regions’ specialty, instead of skilling all youths in chapatti and bricklaying as has been the norm.
“I am not in Cabinet to recruit the youths for the MK Project, already the MK Project has over 21 million young people and MK or PLU as you may call it, we aren’t a political party. We are a civic organization aimed at patriotism, and spreading love for the country. It is a very civic organization where I encourage each one of you to join so my being appointed minister, I have come to fix and address challenges affecting young people,” he said.
Barugahara, Lillian Aber, Dr Kenneth Omona, Phionah Nyamutoro and Gen Wilson Mbadi are some of the new ministers that were vetted on Monday following their appointment last Thursday.
On her part, Aber, who is the Kitgum Woman MP, expressed joy at being appointed Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness and vowed not to be blindsided by the petty fights during the execution of her duties, but instead focus on service delivery for Ugandans.
“I am extremely happy, excited and honored to be picked by the Fountain of Honour and basically, this is a sign of trust. On the other hand, I am also challenged to prove a point and fulfill the obligation that I have been given, but one thing I can assure the country is that we will serve with absolute diligence and we will ensure that service delivery is down there to the last,” she said.