The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has threatened to scrap Sembabule District from the list of districts receiving funds for the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) over alleged abuse of funds. Addressing Sembabule District technocrats and community development officers at the district headquarters on Wednesday, Mr James Tumwebaze, the YLP specialist, said out of Shs230m given to 36 youth groups in the district to support their projects in 2014/15 financial year, only Shs1 millon has been recovered. “We have districts which have recovered over Shs100m and Sembabule is the poorest-performing district. Something needs to be done. If it means arresting the defaulters, please do so and recover public funds,” Mr James Tumwebaze, the YLP specialist, said.

Mr Ibrahim Kitata, the general secretary National Youth Council (NYC) and Mr Tumwebaze tasked Mr Simon Bimbona, the district administrative officer, to crack the whip and recover the funds and threatened to scrap the district off the programme if nothing is done. However, Mr Twaha Musoke, the Sembabule District YLP focal person, explained that the youth had been misled by politicians that the money was a donation from President Museveni for their support in the presidential elections. “The projects are performing well and making profit, but the youth think they are not supposed to pay back. When the community development officers remind them to pay, some threaten to report them to the big politicians,” Mr Musoke said.