Youth Development, Health, Agriculture, key in Tooro Kingdom 2045 Vision

In Summary
  • Vision  aims at socio-economic development, transformation and prosperity of  people of Tooro kingdom. 
  • Youth to undergo skills to address unemployment
  • Kingdom to focus more on agriculture

Skills development for the youth is top on agenda of the Tooro Kingdom 2045 vision launched by the King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.  As one of the key focus areas, King Oyo announced their goal is to ensure that every youth in Tooro must be trained and skilled so that they can either work in production centres or establish their own business and enterprises.

The development agenda is targeting eight key areas of culture, health, agriculture, tourism among others and aims at socio-economic development, transformation and prosperity of  people of Tooro kingdom. 

The   youth, women and men will be supported to develop skills to start cottage industries where people work from  their homes in order to benefit from the massive opportunities resulting from the elevation of Fort Portal as  the Tourism City of Uganda.

Speaking during Empango celebrations to mark his  26th coronation anniversary,  King Oyo noted that much as the kingdom and the country are blessed with a young  population aged below 35 years many of the youth are grappling with unemployment challenges due to lack of skills that are required for them to benefit from existing employment  and entrepreneurship opportunities.

“Working together with Government and our partners, we will mobilize our youth for economic empowerment by tackling the youth unemployment challenge through skilling of youth, innovation and entrepreneurship, micro, small and medium enterprises, the creative industry, business system development, youth cooperatives and micro industries, pro-youth business partnerships and micro financing” said King Oyo.

Oyo said through the established Tooro Kingdom Youth Centre in the young people will get skills and orientation to become problem solvers, producers, job creators and active productive citizens in order to break the vicious cycle which keeps our vibrant youth in perpetual unemployment and poverty

He revealed plans to   establish a state-of-art Industrial Research Institute in Tooro Kingdom with the support of the Industrial Research Institute. This will offer hands-on skills training, value addition and product development, technology development and transfer, business incubation among others.

 In the next 25 years, the Kingdom will also invest in Agriculture for Food. Model farms will be set up in different counties in the Kingdom starting with one in Bugaaki in Kyenjojo district. The model farms will provide hands-on training    demonstrate various agricultural techniques, promote research and provide education to the people of Tooro Kingdom.

 People of Tooro will be encouraged to undertake farming and livestock activities as a business, equipping them with practical gardening, animal husbandry, and agronomy and supporting them to establish and scale- up their individual farming enterprises.

 Under Vision 2045, Tooro Kingdom will work to ensure a healthy and productive population that contributes to the socio-economic development of the Kingdom.

"Working with partners, Tooro  we will establish a state-of-art specialist hospital that uses the latest equipment and technology to ensure  children and adults with life threatening illnesses in Tooro, receive the best possible medical and clinical care According to King Oyo “working with the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, we shall focus on disease prevention and health promotion, leveraging our cultural values, practices and structures to mobilize and educate our people to maintain personal hygiene and good sanitation, promote fitness and physical activity, improve health-seeking behavior, use treated mosquito nets and men accompanying their wives to antenatal visits”.

Under Vision 2045, Tooro Kingdom will focus on ending AIDS and ensure that no child should be born with HIV by 2030. Oyo added that they will promote the test and treat policy so that all people with HIV know their status and are enrolled HIV treatment by the same year

The Omukama asked the public to behave cautiously, wear masks, maintain social distance, wash hands as many times with soap or use hand sanitizers to prevent COVID-19.

“Remember, take care of yourself, take care of everyone around you. These prevention guidelines are aimed to ensure that we defeat corona virus and return to our normal life”.

Oyo Nyimba Iguru Rukidi IV was crowned king of Tooro Kingdom on 12th September 1995 at three years old, following the death of his father   King Patrick Olimi Kaboyo.

This year’s Empango celebrations were held virtually because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Hundreds of only guests attended the colorful event held at the Karuziika palace in Fort portal.

Rukirabasaija Oyo was in the company of the Queen mother Best Kemigisha who has always been by his side.

The Omukama Oyo used the celebrations to declare the Tooro Kingdom as the “Jewel of the Pearl of Africa” to promote tourism.