{UAH} THE ROLE OF YOUTH IN ENSURING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

As has been stated in innumerable articles on and analysis of the demographic situation in

Uganda, the country has one of the youngest populations worldwide. In the global average, the age group between 25 and 54 years is the biggest with 40,78% of the whole population, the age group between 0 and 14 years only makes up 25.79%, and the age group between 15 and 24 even only 16.61%¹.

In Uganda, the situation looks very different: the age group between 25 and 54 years makes up 25.7% of the population, the age group between 15 and 24  constitute 21.2%, and the age group between 0 and 14 years an incredible 48.7%². This means that using the international standard for youth, which is people between 15 and 24, Uganda already has a huge proportion of its population constituted as youth, who are of voting age. Looking a few years into the future, factoring in the enormous group of currently 0- to 14-year-olds, and also including the current birth rate of 6.15 children per women, the Ugandan population will grow younger and younger within the decades to come – making up for the demographic phenomenon of the "youth bulge", where the proportion of persons between 15 and 24 years increases significantly compared to other age groups.

The numerical strength alone makes the youth indispensable stakeholders to society, because first of all they are the ones who will have to bear future consequences of current behaviours and trends – such as development, economic transformation, and climate change – and second of all they will be the biggest group in the democratic process, making them also the group which should have the biggest say.

However, looking at how Uganda fails to accommodate the interests of the youth even now on the one hand, and how it also does not seem to prepare for the years to come by creating the institutional, infrastructural, and legal framework to include the youth including the current birth rate of 6.15 children per women, the Ugandan population will grow younger and younger within the decades to come – making up for the demographic phenomenon of the "youth bulge", where the proportion of persons between 15 and 24 years increases significantly compared to other age groups.

The numerical strength alone makes the youth indispensable stakeholders to society, because first of all they are the ones who will have to bear future consequences of current behaviours and trends – such as development, economic transformation, and climate change – and second of all they will be the biggest group in the democratic process, making them also the group which should have the biggest say. However, looking at how Uganda fails to accommodate

the interests of the youth even now on the one hand, and how it also does not seem to prepare for the years to come by creating the institutional, infrastructural, and legal framework to include the youth in the development process of the country on the other, makes it obvious that the above has not been recognized and accepted sufficiently within the leadership of the country.

Therefore, the "youth bulge" has the potential to be a challenge to development. If left

unaddressed, meaning that the majority of the youth will not get sufficient education and therefore end up unemployed, will not have access to decision making structures, or be excluded from basic services such as health care, electricity, and sanitation, the youth bulge might explode in the face of the authorities. Leaving the challenges of a very young population unaddressed creates a gigantic part of the population that is frustrated and blames – not completely unasked for – the government for its situation. The result might not only be demonstrations, or even riots, but increasing engagement in criminal or violent practices of the youth in order to make a living.

As experiences from other countries have shown, there is nothing more explosive than large groups of unemployed young men, even more so if only a small proportion of them has a certain degree of education. However, where the youth bulge is interpreted and used as part of a 'demographic dividend,' it may be an opportunity to renew the country's economic and social capital. In order to do this, not only would the human capital have to be used efficiently, also new technologies and infrastructures would have to be developed.

 Under such circumstances, the very young population of Uganda can become an asset instead of a threat and contribute to economic transformation and development of the nation. The youth does have the potential to create economic growth for the nation, if those characteristics that distinguish the youth from responsibilities become part of their very being and everyday actions.

There is an emergent recognition that the benefits derived from economic growth may not be sustainable in the event that the growth is achieved at the expense of poor communities and the environment.

Sustainable development recognizes that essential needs of the world's poor should be accorded overriding priority since the ability of the environment to meet present and future needs is limited and inelastic. It is imperative that the youth exercise environmental stewardship to ensure intergenerational equity. At the same time as being environmentally aware, they should take up their roles as economic and social actors, encouraged and supported by an enabling legal and institutional infrastructure. Only then can the full potential of the "youth bulge" be used and turned into something positive. If the government now fails to prepare for the decades to come, the consequences might not only be devastating for every form of economic growth or transformation, but also for the political stability of the country. Engaging the youth and taking them seriously, therefore, is an imperative.

This article originally appeared in THE GUIDE, Issue No.20 - November 2013 (Published by African Center for Trade and Development - ACTADE)

owachgiu@gmail.com

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H.OGWAPITI
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"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that  we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic  and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
---Theodore Roosevelt

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