East African Community (EAC) youth leaders urged to emulate independence heroes
Youth in East African Community member states are urged to emulate the leaders who led the liberation struggle and ushered in independence.
The call was made by the Youth Member of Parliament for the Northern Region, Hon. Boniface Okot, at the opening ceremony of the 7th East African Youth Parliament in Arusha, Tanzania, on Thursday, November 14, 2024.
Okot said the heads of state who led the independence struggle began their journey at a young age by forming powerful political organizations such as the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) which later evolved into Tanzania’s current leading political party Cha Macha Mapenduz (CCM).
“In Tanzania you will find that Julius Nyerere founded TANU when he was only 28. In Uganda, Milton Obote, the first post-independence president, was only 25 when he joined the Uganda National Congress “Ocott said.
Okote cited other leaders in Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan who led political groups fighting for independence at a young age.
“Our independence fathers were very young when they started these independence struggles. They didn’t have social media as an easy means of connecting with people, their sufferings were harder than ours and the roads were bad, but these leaders were still able to complete their generation The mission of man,” Okote said.
The Clerk of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Alex Obatre, while opening the meeting, commended the youths for implementing the resolution through the EALA committee.
Obate said the recommendations of the 6th Youth Parliament on the formulation of the East African Community Youth Policy and Bill have been complied with.
“The East African Community Council of Ministers is discussing youth policy. Regarding the East African Community Youth Bill, Hon. Gerald Siranda (Uganda) has been assigned to give the first reading of the bill,” Obate said.
He noted that EALA is also promoting policies that cater for other interest groups, particularly people with disabilities and gender groups.
During the East African Youth Parliament deliberations, members made strong calls to increase local understanding of climate change, strengthen partnerships among East African Community countries on climate change action, and build alliances on the subject of carbon credits.
Youth members also considered issues related to trade barriers and legislative review, with strong calls respectively for facilitating trade opportunities for youth and engaging youth in leadership and governance.
The East African Youth Parliament, hosted by the Farah Africa Foundation, is supported by partners such as the Ugandan Parliament and aims to build a platform for young people to make suggestions for the development of the region.
The sessions took place on 14-15 November 2024 and brought together more than 70 youth from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
