Kampala
13/11/07
 
MUSEVENI TELLS YOUTH NOT TO RELY ON CIRCUMCISION BUT TO AVOID IRRESPONSIBLE AND IMMORAL CONDUCT TO AVOID HIV/AIDS.

By Leo Odera Omolo
 
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has told his country youth that circumcision should not be promoted in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as it will encourage immorality and recklessness among the youth.
 
Addressing over 500 youth delegates who affected the youth Activist Forum last week at the Hotel Africana in Kampala, Museveni the President said he would continue advocating for the ABC strategy (Abstinence, Faithfulness and Condoms.)
 
‘’Some NGOs have been saying rubbish about circumcision but I will continue encouraging the youth to abstain, and use condoms only if they must!!
 
How many Bagisu have died of AIDS and yet all of them are circumcised’’? he asked.
 
‘’You would rather use a condom as a fall-back position but not rely on circumcision alone.’’
 
Museveni warned the youth against contacting HIV/AIDS and encouraged them to get married immediately after school.
 
‘’By the time you get your first degree when you are 24, you should find a responsible partner and enjoy the rest of your lives together. Getting a partner should be a long process but not meeting in the bus park and getting married.’’
 
The President added that Uganda’s population growth rate was not a problem.
 
‘’At 30 million we should not be worried. Japan, which is about the same age as Uganda, has over 120 million, but it is a fast-developing country. Population is not the problem here, the problem is under development and this is what we are trying to address.’’
 
On the controversial land give-a ways to investors, President Museveni said this was part of an effort to create employment for the youth.
 
‘’Your enemies are the people who are delaying these industries and fighting for small pieces of land, therefore delaying employment opportunities for you’’.
 
The Uganda leader warned that his government would attach the property of people who get money through SACCOs and fail to pay it back.
 
This is not going to be like the Entandikwa. If you fail to pay back, your property will be attached and sold in public auctions, he warned.
 
The You forum, a precursor to the Commonwealth Youth Forum to take place in Kampala later this month, was organized by the Global Forum for International Cooperation.