Recreation for development &Peace (RDP-Uganda)
used the Youth Budget Advocacy Group (YBAG) model to implement their project “Enhancing youth rights to
participate in development in Oyam District”. The YBAG is a nine member
group that sits quarterly to review and discuss key youth related issues.
Action plans are developed for the YBAG to engage duty bearers to get their
commitment to address raised challenges through dialogues, one on one
engagement, and meetings. Follow up meetings; phone calls and actual monitoring
are used to track the commitments made. The YBAG also continuously mobilizes
young people to engage in the development process. The purpose of the project was to address youth
challenges such as limited participation in development projects and engagement
with local leaders/duty bearers.
What
was done
1.
Establishment of four YBAGs to secure
solutions to the raised youth concerns.
2.
Conducted 40 follow up meetings on a
quarterly basis at both Sub County and District levels and development of
action/follow plans for both sub county and district stakeholders.
3.
Trained YBAG members in lobbying and
advocacy, human rights based approach in planning and access to information.
4.
Engaged YBAGs in various campaigns like the
youth advocacy week and the right to know day commemoration campaigns.
5.
Conducted monthly coordination meetings to
review plans and update members on the progress of the youth project.
6.
Conducted youth parliaments at radio shine
where the YBAG members tasked duty bearers to respond to raised youth concerns.
Project Results
Increased assertiveness of the youths in demanding for their
entitlements; for instance the youths demanded the district for a refund of the
misappropriated 1.8 million youth fund. This had allegedly been paid to Uganda
Revenue Authority as PAYEE. Through the various follow up meetings and
petitions written to the Chief Administrative Officer and the District Speaker,
1.8 million shillings was released to the youth and used to facilitate
entrepreneurship training for the youths. “We are very grateful for this, nobody
expected these local funds to come back, I now believe that with such
innovations of the YBAG anything is possible” asserted a youth in Oyam
district.
Increased budget
allocations towards youth programs both at Sub County and District levels. This
allowed for celebrations of the International youth day in Oyam. The first ever
in the district. The youth budgets for the last three years have realized the following
changes;
|
F/Y
|
Otwal
|
Aleka
|
Abok
|
Ngai
|
District
|
|
2010/2011
|
100,000
|
100,000
|
100,000
|
100,000
|
1,800,000
|
|
2011/2012
|
150,000
|
200,000
|
200,000
|
200,000
|
1,800,000
|
|
2012/2013
|
300,000
|
350,000
|
200,000
|
400,000
|
1,800,000
|
|
2013/2014
|
450,000
|
400,000
|
400,000
|
700,000
|
2,500,000
|
Conducting of the
first district youth council meeting since 2011. This was made possible by the
increase in the budget allocations.
Increased number of
youth beneficiaries in government programs. 15-20 % of the NAADs beneficiaries
in the F/Y 2012/2013 were youths- District NAADS Report 2013. While a youth
group in Amakigungu Parish also got 3.6 million shillings from the Community
Demand Driven (CDD) initiative and started a piggery project.
Increased youth
involvement in government programs; for instance more youths have been included
on the procurement committees at sub county level.
Lesson Learned
Use
of existing groups and structures like the youth groups, Community Development Office,
Youth Committees and Youth Councillors ensures sustainability of the project. It
is possible that new groups/structures formed at the inception of the project
would not have effectively taken on the cause/action like the already existing
groups did.
