Billions of shillings disbursed by the government to support youth enterprises in Kitgum district and Kitgum municipality remain largely unrecovered, raising concerns about the sustainability of a programme designed to give successive groups of young people access to financial support.

The Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, Dr Lakisa Mercy Faith, raised the concern during a monitoring visit to assess the performance of groups that benefited from the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP).

Figures presented to the minister showed that Kitgum District had received shs1,388,055,300 billion for 209 youth groups, but only shs141,265,600 million had been recovered.

In Kitgum Municipality, 70 groups received about shs450.846, 000 million, of which only shs53.270, 566 million had been recovered.

The low recovery rate, the minister said, threatens the revolving nature of the programme, under which funds repaid by one group are expected to finance other youth groups.

“The money is supposed to revolve,” Lakica said, warning that failure by beneficiaries to repay means other young people are denied the opportunity to access government support.

The monitoring exercise also exposed cases of inactive groups, beneficiaries who could not be traced and allegations that some groups shared programme money among members instead of investing it in the enterprises for which the funds were provided.

Lakisa described some of the findings as disappointing, particularly where groups could no longer be accounted for years after receiving government support.

One of the projects visited was a tree nursery that was reportedly no longer operational. A public-address system project in Kitgum Municipality also came under scrutiny after members reportedly became difficult to trace ahead of the minister’s visit.

In Amida sub-county in Kitgum district, officials raised questions over a purported Dicwinyi Youth Group, which reportedly received shs9 million for an animal-fattening project. Local leaders reportedly said they could not identify a group by that name in the area.

The cases have renewed calls for stronger verification before funds are released and closer monitoring after beneficiaries receive the money.

Lakisa said the ministry was considering an independent monitoring mechanism that would regularly track beneficiary groups and provide timely information on their performance.

She also said youth leaders would be more involved in identifying and verifying groups to strengthen accountability.

Repayment challenges

Some groups told the minister they were willing to repay the funds but faced challenges in running their enterprises.

In Pandwong, Ojok Ivan, chairman of a 10-member piggery group, said the beneficiaries received shs5 million in 2024 and were preparing to begin repayment. Ojok said the group expected to raise about shs1.5 million by December this year.

In Kitgum Central Division, Ongom Bob, chairman of the 1st Jenge Motor Repair Youth Group, said the group received shs6.2 million in 2016 to establish a motor repair and welding enterprise.

“The group, which had 18 members, had repaid only shs1.5 million”, he said. Ongom said members would be engaged to develop a strategy for clearing the outstanding balance.

Another case involved Awere Youth Produce Buying and Selling Group in Okidi, Labongo Amida sub-county. The group received shs4.8 million when it had 15 members. According to its chairman, Owiny Denis, members initially shared the money instead of investing it in the agreed enterprise.

Owiny said 12 members were later arrested during recovery efforts and made payments before being released. The cases illustrate some of the difficulties facing YLP, including poor enterprise management, misuse of funds and weak follow-up of beneficiaries.

Impact on other youth

Kitgum District Youth Chairperson Watmon Derick said the government needed to increase funding for youth enterprises while ensuring that beneficiaries were adequately supported to establish viable businesses.

He also called for motorcycles and functional offices to enable youth leaders to effectively monitor youth programmes at district level.

Kitgum Chief Administrative Officer Habib Abubakar said the district would undertake a comprehensive assessment of YLP groups to establish how funds were disbursed, the status of beneficiaries and the reasons behind the repayment challenges.

The assessment will involve local government structures, including town clerks, sub-county chiefs and community development officers.

Abubakar said the findings would form the basis of a recovery strategy aimed at ensuring that outstanding funds are recovered and returned to the revolving programme.

Assistant Resident District Commissioner Okidi Joseph attributed some of the challenges to what he described as a need for mindset change among beneficiaries.

He said young people should understand that YLP funds are intended to establish sustainable enterprises and benefit other youth through repayment, rather than being treated as personal income.

Lakica warned that beneficiaries who continued to ignore repayment obligations could face arrest. She directed Kitgum District Chief Administrative officer and Kitgum Municipality Town Clerk to trace beneficiaries with outstanding balances and pursue recovery on a case-by-case basis.

The minister said the government could not continue injecting money into a programme where recovery remained poor while other young people were waiting for support.

She said priority should also be given to youth groups already engaged in viable enterprises because such businesses are easier to monitor and have greater potential to create employment.

The recovery drive, Minister Faith Lakisa said, will be critical to restoring the revolving nature of YLP and ensuring that government funding reaches more young people in Kitgum and beyond.