INSIDE YOUTH, WOMEN FUNDS MESS AT GENDER MINISTRY! Sh252Bn Loan Bill Piles Up as YLP Recovers Just 25%, UWEP Leaves Sh26.6Bn Unpaid — Report Warns Against Throwing More Money at Failing Revolving Fund
A Ugandan government report reveals that youth and women empowerment funds are facing a severe recovery crisis, with billions of shillings in loans remaining unpaid. Parliament is now questioning the viability of these revolving fund programs due to low repayment rates.
Why it matters
This highlights the challenges of government-led micro-lending initiatives and the potential for public funds to be mismanaged or under-recovered.
UWEP is nationally coordinated by Winfred Masiko (L) while YLP (R) is nationally coordinated by Paul Onapa both under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD)
A massive recovery crisis has engulfed the government’s youth and women empowerment funds, with billions of shillings remaining unpaid and Parliament questioning whether the programmes are still viable or have turned into expensive money-chasing schemes.
The latest revelations show that the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development had receivables worth Sh252.49 billion as at June 30, 2025, up from Sh241.93 billion the previous year.
The Auditor General attributed the increase to additional loans advanced to women and youth groups, but the recovery figures paint a grim picture of the government’s revolving-fund model.
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