Arua city moves to evict occupants of one stop youth centre

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Arua city authorities have issued a 20-day ultimatum to occupants of the One Stop Youth Center to vacate or face forceful eviction. In his eviction notice, the Arua city deputy town clerk, Jobile Cornelius, says that the move is meant to pave way for the renovation of the facility, which is in a deplorable state.

“Following the assessment of the leaking of the roof of the one-stop youth centre, the city council has decided to renovate the roof to avoid any further damage. During the renovation, no person shall be allowed to occupy the premises,” reads part of the letter.

Located in Niva cell along Enyau road in Arua city central division, the facility was irregularly rented out to some private firms and organizations by former members of Arua Municipality Youth Council.

Favourite Edeti, Arua City Youth council chairperson says that it’s sad that the facility was irregularly rented out to some organizations, which defeats the purpose for which it was constructed. According to Edeti, their priority is to revamp the operations of the facility as a hub for the young people in the city.

Francis Bayo, the Ayivu division youth council chairperson has welcomed the proposed eviction of the occupant from the youth centre, saying that they haven’t seen the benefit of the facility due to mismanagement by some individuals. He tasked the City council to institute a forensic audit of the operations of the facility before handing it over to the youth council.

Doreen Onyiru, the Arua city female youth councillor explains that the eviction of the occupants is long overdue since the one-stop youth centre has been lying ideal. She notes that they lost several pieces of furniture meant for the centre to some unscrupulous individuals who took advantage of the situation.

The One Stop Youth centre was constructed in 2014 at Shillings 80 million with support from the UN-Habitat. The centre was meant to provide youth and children with information and services on reproductive health, sports, and culture.

Some of the firms that have been renting the facility include, Kipaji West Nile skills training centre, Amani Initiative, and Development Initiative West Nile among others.

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