Youth Livelihood Programme is on steady path to success

Premised on contestable specifics, the Daily Monitor’s editorial of Thursday called for a review or disbandment of the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP). There was an attempt, probably because an editorial should meet all credibility measures, to use statistics as evidence, unfortunately the figures were flawed. For example, to aver that funds loaned to youth groups in Gulu Municipality haven’t been recovered because the recipients disappeared without a trace, is an outright falsehood.
It is on record that 45 groups have been funded in Gulu Municipality with a total of Shs343m disbursed to them under the YLP. Of the Shs343m, only Shs85m is due for recovery. It is important to fathom that beneficiary groups have a maximum of three years within which to pay back the loan they receive, hence the term amount due.
You will be glad to know that Shs57.3m of the amount due has been paid back, representing 66 per cent performance. This performance is better than many of our commercial banks that run a purely money-making loan regime unlike the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, which has to contend with loan repayment as well as social impact.
The Bank of Uganda Financial Stability Report, 2017, indicated that the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans (NPL ratio) decreased from 8.3 per cent to 6.2 per cent between June 2016 and June 2017. In comparison to those figures, the YLP deserves a pat on the back. Again, financial (loan) figures will not make sense to you if you don’t take the time to contextualise them.
The editorial sought to paint a bleak picture of the programme in Gulu Municipality. But groups like Ribebe Youth Concrete Moulding and School Road Hairdressing Youth in Gulu Municipality must have read the editorial and sipped on their coffee. They are an example of youth progress in the municipality beyond sponsored propaganda against the programme. It is clear that some officials, not to mention institutions, have been struggling to get a grip of these livelihood funds for ulterior motives, and therefore, invested highly in drumming the trifling challenges that any programme can face. They won’t make mention of the success stories.
Listen, Gulu District to date has four groups that have paid back 100 per cent what they received and the groups remain a going concern. Scaled further to cover the whole country, there are 200 groups that have completed 100 per cent repayment of funds. Nationally, Shs19.4b of the Shs30bdue, representing 64 per cent, has been recovered. Again, very few commercial banks in Uganda can beat this.
This is the challenge naysayers ride on. Majority of the youth groups (36 per cent) went in for agricultural enterprises. A government of Uganda report released in September 2017 reported several parts of the country to be struggling with the worst drought in more than half a century. Ugandans grappled with failing crops and food shortages.
The YLP beneficiaries weren’t immune to this situation. But the Ministry of Gender was wise enough to come up with mitigating measures such as rescheduling repayment periods and refinancing some groups. With improved weather, many of those groups are currently doing well on their repayments. Repayments across the country shot up as yields and market conditions got better.
The Bank of Uganda report further indicated that a major challenge faced by banks was the slow growth of loans, which rose by only 0.9 per cent between June 2016 and June 2017, far lower than 3.7 per cent growth recorded in the previous year. Ugandans were afraid to take loans due to the poor general economic performance.
These factors affect the entire economy and they ought to be recognised when analysing the performance of the YLP.Still then, the livelihood funds post better performance in such hard times. YLP has registered impressive performance largely because the funds implementation mechanisms incorporate both economic and social empowerment.
Gulu District has recovered Shs169.3m of the Shs249m due, representing performance of 67.91 per cent. Moroto in Karamoja region has recovered Shs286.1m of the Shs362m due, representing 79.05 per cent. Dokolo stands at 77.04 per cent on recovery with Shs201 million of Shs261 million already on account.
From the other side of the country, Kyenjojo District has recovered Shs247.6m of the Shs294m due ((84.12 per cent). Rubirizi has recovered Shs182.8m of the Shs219m due representing 83.44 per cent performance. Masaka stands at 79.24 per cent recovery with Shs212m of Shs268.6m due in the bag already. Mukono Municipality has recovered Shs48m of the Shs62m due, representing 77.53 per cent performance. From east to west, north to south, YLP has registered commendable success, which is a far cry from the failure and call for “total disbandment”.
It is important to note that the performance of the districts is largely dependent on the commitment of the local leadership - political and technical - to support the programme and give strategic guidance to the youth. We, therefore, urge local leaders to embrace the programme and support the youth to maximise its benefits.
Lastly, a Process Evaluation has just been done on YLP by independent consultants from the University of California and Makerere University and 34 per cent of the groups engaged reported improved earnings and improved standards of living. And 43 per cent of the groups are reported to have started making savings. The report can be accessed on the ministry’s website. Currently an impact evaluation is ongoing and we await the results although a sneak peek already points at a huge success. Recently, the Ministry held a review of the programme and several strategies were developed together with key stakeholders to enhance performance.
Therefore, YLP’s future is a no guess-game, but a well thought out intervention that can only make a contribution to youth empowerment, poverty eradication, youth employment, national development and social cohesion.
Mr Mugabi is the communications officer, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. [email protected]