Bigirimana joins social media, vows to interest youth in government programs

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development Mr Pius Bigirimana has joined social media; a new development he says is geared towards effective communication and service delivery to the youth.

Speaking to the Daily Monitor on Tuesday, Mr Bigirimana said that he was convinced that joining social media is the best way to get in touch with the youth.

“I hope to use social media platforms to interact with the young people. This form of communication will also bridge the gap between the youth and my office. I will as well use Facebook and Twitter to explain our works at the Ministry especially the successes of the Youth Livelihood Programme,” he said.

Mr Bigirimana on December 1 announced he has joined Facebook and Twitter through his official page. He then went ahead to publish messages about the youth livelihood programmes and his official engagements locally and internationally.

“Good afternoon friends. This is my official Facebook Account. I look forward to a fruitful engagement with you especially the young people,” Mr Bigirimana wrote on Facebook.

“Hello Tweeps. This is my official Twitter Handle. I look forward to a constructive engagement with you here particularly on job creation,” he tweeted on December 1.

From the time he opened his social media accounts, Mr Bigirimana has gained 833 friends on Facebook and 36 followers on Twitter, with more than 10 posts and six tweets respectively.

The Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) is a government programme, targeting the poor and unemployed youth in all the districts in the country. The programme is implemented under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD). It is financed initially from government own resources with an initial budget estimate of Shs 265 billion in the next 5 years.

YLP is a community demand-driven programme that is implemented with guidance from the central government and the local governments. The funds are advanced to the Youth Interest Groups (YIG) in form of a Revolving Fund in order to increase outreach and enhance sustainability of the Programme.