President Museveni Meets Youth Journalists

KAMPALA - The Commander in Chief Of The Armed Forces and the Fountain of Honour to the republic of Uganda, HE. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has tipped journalists on how to accumulate wealth and awarded each with a certificate of attendance as he promises to second their further developments.

The session which started on 6th February lasted for five days at kyambogo University grounds where journalists across all corners of Uganda have been empowered with knowledge on positive reporting about their country, economic empowerment , patriotism, Military Science, human rights violations and protection, Pan Africanism among others by top army ranking officials and several professors.

Through the Uganda Journalist Association, the theme for this year's symposium is " Socio-Economic Transformation for Journalists."

Museveni described that journalists should be able to do reporting that promotes peace and security as opposed to negative reporting about public affairs aiming at distorting the peace of the country.

The Army General also indicated that being paid or not should not divert journalists away from ethical reporting because it is who they are.

According to Museveni , "I am happy that youth journalists now have developed ideas of forming SACCOs, this means development and through that government is willing to support them by giving grants region by region, all needed is them to get organized and prepare for the grants."

This shall engineer journalist's engagement in various economic activities such as agriculture which shall in a long run stabilize their earnings through adding on the incomes hence escaping the poverty lines, he included.

Mathias Rukundo the Uganda Journalist Association President brought to attention of HE. Museveni that journalists in Uganda are poorly or not paid totally, denied contracts and heavy taxes imposed on media broadcasters.

Such practices dismantle professional reporting by journalists as a result of trying to meet the standards of living, the fact that the ability for media owners to facilitate journalists well has been heavily burdened, Rukundo noted.