President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has approved a Shs5 billion special empowerment fund for ghetto youth in Kampala, marking a significant boost toward inclusive wealth creation efforts in the capital.
While touring ghetto communities in Kawempe Division on Friday, 18th July, 2025, President Museveni announced that each of the five divisions in Kampala will receive Shs1 billion, up from the initial allocation of Shs100 million, to support income-generating activities among urban poor youth.
“We are increasing the ghetto empowerment fund to Shs1 billion per division so that you can engage in productive work. We cannot talk about national development when a section of our population is left behind,” Museveni said.
The President’s remarks were made during a tour of Nabukalu Village in Bwaise Parish, Kawempe Division, where he inspected ongoing youth-led initiatives in electronics repair, creative arts, urban farming, and goat rearing.
The ghetto tour is part of Museveni’s wider engagement with Greater Kampala communities aimed at evaluating the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM) and other wealth creation initiatives.
President Museveni emphasized that Ugandans must reject non-productive political rhetoric and support leadership that advocates for budgeting strategies focused on poverty eradication, service delivery, and economic empowerment.
“We must do away with consumptive and elitist budgeting approaches like creating more administrative units that do not serve the people. What matters is ensuring that resources reach the grassroots,” he added.
The President attributed the long-standing neglect of ghetto communities to elitist leaders who are disconnected from the lived realities of low-income earners.
“Many leaders do not know how to engage the less educated, yet they are critical actors in our socioeconomic transformation. With the right guidance, they are highly productive,” Museveni observed.
Maj. Emma Kuteesa, the State House Coordinator of the Ghetto Structure, informed the President that the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area is home to approximately 8,000 organized ghetto communities.
He welcomed the President’s directive for more direct support toward their initiatives.
During the Kawempe tour, President Museveni spent over Shs55 million on direct support to beneficiaries and promised continued engagement with the ghetto population to ensure their full participation in the national development agenda.
