State Minister for Energy Phiona Nyamutoro has blamed the Anti-Homosexuality Act for disrupting programs of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Youth Affairs (UPFYA).
The youthful Minister made this revelation while handing over leadership of the Forum at Parliament on Thursday afternoon. In her speech, she acknowledged that the start of their leadership was a cagey one.
According to her, this was influenced by the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. This Act put Parliament at loggerheads with many of its foreign partners, hence the disruption of their programs.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, the majority of our partners outside the Government avenue withdrew their support so we had very many challenges with regards to rallying and mobilizing resources to ensure that the activities of the Forum aren’t stalled.” Hon Phiona Nyamutoro.
However, Hon Nyamutoro commended the MPs that were always present at their functions. With limited resources available, the Forum couldn’t ensure that MPs were comfortable during their events.
During the same address, the Minister added her voice to call for respect of sexual reproductive health and rights.
She blamed ignorance of sexual reproductive health and rights for the loss of many productive young people.
In addition, Hon Nyamutoro called upon MPs to relentlessly advocate for the improvement of the livelihoods of youths. According to her, once youths are equipped with the right information, they’ll become unstoppable.
The minister then handed over the leadership of the youth Forum to Bernard Odoi (Youth MP Eastern Region).
In his acceptance speech, Bernard Odoi promised to address the pending issues of the Forum.
“I want to request that the members present here and the general members of the Forum will seek your support to see that the young people and the future of this country are trained and given opportunity not to be participants in elections but to be an integral part of the electoral process. It will be happy that all these MPs come back and your support,” said Odoi.
The handover was attended by numerous dignitaries including Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa.
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