VIHIGA COUNTY YOUTH GATHER IN MBALE TO DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT AND ADVOCACY STRATEGIES

The County Government of Vihiga’s Department of Gender, Culture, Youth, Sports and Social Services in partnership with the Siaya County Youth Network hosted youth from across the county for the youth-duty bearers Chambua Huduma Forum at Broadpark Hotel in Mbale.

Speaking during the forum, Vihiga County Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo encouraged the youth to take advantage of the frameworks in place to enable the success of youth programs.

“We have put in place all the policy and legal frameworks to implement my manifesto and the County Integrated Development Plan. We have the Youth Service Act, Agroecology Policy, Nutrition Policy, and ICT policy among others, and also have various funds like the Trade and Enterprise Fund, and the Cooperative Enterprise Development Fund in place. I encourage our youth to take advantage of these to support their programs. We should also embrace smart agriculture as the future of the sector as enabled by the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project. The youth should work together to ensure a sustainable future,” said the Governor.

For her part, the County Executive Committee Member for the Department of Gender, Culture, Youth, Sports and Social Services Dr. Ruth Agesa encouraged the youth to embrace dialogue to find solutions.

“As a department, we are collaborating with other departments in our county to champion youth issues. We also encourage youth to embrace dialogue so that we can all see where the problems are and how we can find solutions,” said Dr. Ruth Agesa.

The youth in attendance presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the Governor, highlighting issues of government land access for agricultural production, youth-friendly finances, structure and marketing, youth-friendly extension services, and inclusion of youth representation on the County Budget and Economic Forum (CBEF) committee.

The forum organized by the Siaya County Youth Network (SCYN) led by their president Nichodemus Solomon is part of a larger project dubbed The Youth Leadership Project set to be implemented in Vihiga, Kisumu, Siaya, Bungoma and Kakamega counties.