Oyam district has allocated over shs50million to be disbursed to youth who have completed six months of training at the Lango Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub, based at Lira University.
The funds are intended to help the trainees start their own businesses upon graduation.
Oyam Chief Administrative Officer, Alex Felix Majembe, confirmed that the funds are already in the district account. He made the remarks on August 1, 2026, during a visit by a delegation of district leaders to the hub.
The team, led by Majembe, encouraged the trainees to stay focused on their courses. He further pledged that, since the youth now possess skills, the district would organise them into registered groups to facilitate their access to government programs.
Majembe also noted that the youth have undergone mindset change training and are now aware of current procurement laws. He emphasized that 20% of district contracts are reserved for special interest groups, including the youth, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Currently, Oyam district has 21 youths at the hub—14 females and 7 males—undergoing the six-month training program.
The training is broken down into six different courses, including hairdressing, carpentry, block laying and concreting, tailoring and garment cutting, bakery, and welding and metal fabrication.
Lango Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub was established by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to equip youths with vocational skills and reduce unemployment.
Oyam Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DRDC), Francis Behangana, commended the youths for seizing the opportunity provided by the NRM government’s skilling program.
He noted that the initiative aims to promote self-reliance, curb youth unemployment, and boost economic growth. Behangana urged the trainees to remain focused and avoid negative peer influence.
DRDC also called on parents to value the hub and encourage their children to acquire practical vocational skills.
The Oyam district LC5 chairperson, Nelson Adea Akar, who led the political leaders during the visit, reaffirmed the district’s commitment to supporting the trained youth with startup capital.
He noted that many skilled youths have previously failed to utilise their knowledge due to a lack of funds, which sometimes leads them into criminal activities.
Adea “Mogo-amoga” appealed to parents to cooperate with local leaders to ensure more children benefit from the free training. He expressed pride in seeing young people generate their own income and improve their living standards.
Abdul George, chairperson of the Lango Zonal Presidential Youth Skilling Hub, raised concern that some leaders are referring non-vulnerable individuals to the program.
He stressed that the hub was gazetted specifically for vulnerable youth and warned that admitting ineligible participants undermines the initiative’s purpose.
Director of Presidential Projects and Industrial Hubs, Engineer Raymond Kamugisha, announced that due to high demand from the Lango community, more facilities will be constructed to double the intake from 240 to 480 trainees per cohort.
This means the hub will produce over 960 graduates annually.
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