Dr. Balaam Barugahara, recently appointed as Minister of State for Youth and Children, and Lillian Aber, appointed as Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, have both pledged to prioritize service above self during their tenures as leaders. The ministers made their commitments separately on Monday, addressing journalists shortly after exiting Parliament’s appointment committee where they underwent vetting.
In their statements, both ministers noted the importance of serving the people of Uganda with dedication and diligence.
Dr. Barugahara committed to tackling youth unemployment in his tenure. He stated that his focus is not on recruiting youths for any particular project but rather on addressing the root issue of unemployment among young people in the country.
Dr. Barugahara highlighted the importance of providing skilled training tailored to the specialties of different regions, moving away from the conventional approach of general skill training in areas like bricklaying and chapatti making.
He emphasized that each sub-region in Uganda has its unique strengths, such as minerals in Karamoja and oil in Bunyoro, and advocated for youths to be trained in accordance with these specialties. For instance, he suggested that youths in Karamoja should be skilled in mining, while those in Bunyoro should focus on oil and gas, and those in Buganda could specialize in coffee farming.
“The young people have 4-5 challenges, they make 75% of the population however, out of the 75%, 83% of those young people they are unskilled, uneducated and unemployed and of that, only 17% are skilled. So, my role will be advocating for skilling but we don’t have to skill people for everyone to be skilling for making bricks, chapatti and etc. Each sub-region has its core, Karamoja has minerals, Bunyoro has oil, the youths in Buganda are good coffee farmers,” he said
Meanwhile, Lillian Aber, the newly appointed Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, expressed her enthusiasm for her new role and vowed to prioritize service delivery for Ugandans. She emphasized the importance of proactive disaster management and assured the public of her commitment to addressing issues of disaster relief with diligence and collaboration.
Aber also made it clear that she is not interested in engaging in petty conflicts but rather intends to focus on fulfilling her duties and delivering services as assigned by her superiors.
“My area is a very taxing area, I have the energy, I will move around the country to handle the issues of disaster in collaboration with my bosses. I am one person who doesn’t breed conflict and one thing I can assure you, I am not going into that Ministry for any petty fights, I am going to perform my duties and deliver services as assigned by my boss,” She said
President Yoweri Museveni recently reshuffled his cabinet, introducing new faces and replacing some ministers.
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