Police have told President Museveni that the program to rehabilitate ghetto youths is yielding fruits, as this group refused to participate in the anti- graft protests around Kampala.
“Your Excellency, we believe that this project is working very well, and your support will go a long way by making the resources they have been lacking available and we embark on so many projects that we couldn’t implement because of the limitation of funding,” Police’s Crime Intelligence Director, Brig Christopher Ddamulira told the president on Wednesday.
“Your excellency, even recently during the planned march to Parliament, we didn’t register a single ghetto youth getting involved in those things.”
Brig Ddamulira was briefing the president about the progress of Kampala ghetto project which seeks to empower youths in the ghettos of the three Kampala Metropolitan Area districts of Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso.
The program was started in March 2022 and saw ghetto youths elect their own leaders before forming saccos.
These structures also help police in fighting crime.
Speaking on Wednesday, Brig Ddamulira said the intervention has started yielding fruits by tremendously reducing criminality in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono.
“Even if you look at the Police report that we issue every year, the last report clearly indicated that the crime level has gone down but also in political violence, these are the people that the politicians have always used to cause confusion in Kampala because they felt they didn’t have a
stake in what’s happening in the country. All those crimes have reduced,” he said.
Shafik Kalyango, the leader of the ghetto youths, expressed gratitude to President Museveni for empowering the ghetto people through financial and moral support.
He also thanked the president for fulfilling his promise of Shs1.2 billion contribution to their ghetto SACCOs.
“Your Excellency, we have evidence that the money reached our bank accounts. We also thank Gen. Ddamulira, Maj. Emma Kutesa, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and their team for the support and care towards the ghetto people.”
Kalyango also assured the President that they are now reformed citizens looking forward to working with the government for the socio- economic transformation of the country.
Jackie Nakalema who is the Vice Chairperson of ghetto youths in Kampala metropolitan Area asked President Museveni to consider them in the PDM program as a special group, saying they have been denied the chance because of their way of living with a perception that they don’t have the capacity to refund the money.
The president promised to instruct the secretariat of Emyooga and PDM to consider the ghetto
structure.
The meeting was also attended by the State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye, Maj. Emma Kutesa, the Private Secretary to the President for youth, in agriculture, value addition and export promotion, Dr. Hillary Musoke Kisanja and Nansana Deputy RDC, Mr. Shafiq Ali Nsubuga.
