East African Gazette
Kyankwanzi
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged district leaders to prioritize politics based on the people’s interest.
He said this crucial aspect plays a significant role in the overall prosperity of Ugandans.
According to President Museveni, after getting independence, Uganda encountered numerous obstacles due to leaders who inaccurately diagnosed the issues affecting citizens.
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After gaining independence in 1962, he said there was a lack of widespread concern among the people, and each individual approached the issues in their own manner with some individuals placing a significant emphasis on the politics of identity through the concept of federalism.
Museveni stressed that surprisingly, even today, the same topic continues to be a subject of discussion, despite its contribution to hindering progress and development.
He noted that four years post-Independence, the nation faced numerous issues such as the annulment of the constitution by ex-President Milton Obote, followed by conflicts with former President Idi Amin, and various other obstacles.
He emphasized that all these troubles were a result of the “doctor who wrongly diagnosed the patient”.
The President delivered his message on February 22, 2024 while meeting 472 district leaders at the conclusion of the Transformational Leadership Development Course held at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) Kyankwanzi.
The leaders were from seven (7) districts namely including; Hoima, Kakumiro, Mubende, Kasanda, Nakaseke, Kamwenge, and Kyankwanzi.
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The course ran under the theme: “The role of local leaders in the implementation of government programs and projects”.
President Museveni clarified that upon the emergence of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), a thorough analysis of Uganda’s issues was conducted, leading to the formulation of four fundamental principles to effectively address these challenges.
He said the four core principles including patriotism, Pan- Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy are aimed at promoting the prosperity of Ugandans.
“Like in my area in Rwakitura, to be prosperous I will need a person to buy my milk, meat and bananas. If I get those who buy my products continuously, I will be prosperous. But when you emphatically look around, you realize that the Banyankore in Ankore do not buy my milk, meat and bananas because they also produce the same products like me and when we meet along the way, we greet each other in our local language. Unfortunately, that greeting cannot build a house for me. To build my house, I will need money and I can only get that money from
the other people who buy my products and most of those people are not Banyankore,” he noted.
“When you go to Kampala, and you look at a Muganda in a shop, the people who buy from his shop are not only Baganda. Therefore, Uganda as a whole will help us to get prosperous not the identity based on tribes and religions. That is why, we say patriotism- you love your country because you need it for your prosperity,” he added.
He stressed that poverty, or any other challenge affects all Uganda equally irrespective of “our tribe or religion”.
“All our problems are the same, so that is why we said our politics will stand on the interest of the people. And to achieve this we needed patriotism which is the NRM principle number one,” he said.
President Museveni added that when the country is peaceful and produces more, it needs an external market to ensure the prosperity of its citizens.
“You will realize that the Ugandan market is not enough and to solve this, we need East Africa and Africa at large. That is why we add Pan-Africanism. We need all these principles because we want to be prosperous,” he noted.
The president noted that upon assuming control, they introduced the concept of “ekibaro” and embarked on a mission to uplift the country through the gospel of wealth creation.
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“When you accepted to rear cows for milk production, you now see that Uganda produces a lot of milk more than what we consume. We now produce 5.3 billion litres of milk annually, yet here we consume only 800 million litres, so we have a surplus of more than 4 billion litres of milk. That is why we need an external market. For maize, we produce 5million tonnes annually, yet here we only use 1 million tonnes; therefore, we have a surplus of 4 million tonnes,” he noted.
On socio-economic transformation, the President said leaders should ensure that their people work towards transforming themselves through wealth creation and free education for all.
“Through those two avenues, the welfare of our livelihoods will change. If you work for the stomach alone and you forget about the pocket, you cannot get out of poverty,” he emphasized.
President Museveni also suggested that Ugandans should tackle poverty by adopting the four-acre-model method of agriculture. “On one acre grow coffee, fruits on the other acre, on the third acre grow pasture for zero grazing, and on the third acre grow food crops. At the backyard, rear poultry, pigs and fishponds. Those seven activities are the medicine to the poor Ugandan to fight poverty. But then, there are industries, services and ICT. This will also help us to make money,” the President noted.
He pledged to consider establishing a SACCO to support them, emphasizing that democracy as the fourth principle is clear.
The Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, stated that the training was organized in response to the issues highlighted by local leaders and residents during the meetings held in multiple districts throughout the country.
“Your Excellency, following your guidance to H.E the Vice President and me on 6th September 2021, we have been spearheading the implementation of government programmes and projects and we found out that some local leaders lacked knowledge of their roles and needed NRM ideological orientation and accordingly, I organised this transformational leadership development course for 472 local leaders from the seven districts,” Nabbanja said.
She further instructed the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, to enhance Kyankwanzi Health Center II to III in order to improve healthcare services for the community.
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Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport, asked leaders to effectively utilize the allocated shs1 billion to improve the road infrastructure in their respective districts.
Furthermore, he provided reassurance to leaders that the integration of Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) will not disrupt the ongoing road construction projects throughout the nation.
“In the near future, districts will receive graders for road rehabilitations. This shows that His Excellency gives infrastructural development priority,” Katumba said.
Brig. Gen. Charles Kisembo, Director of NALI, stated that the group included District Executive Committee Members of the NRM, LC3 Chairpersons, NRM Chairpersons of Sub counties and town councils, leaders of the youth and people with disabilities, and cadres.
He claimed that while at the institute, the attendees underwent training on ideology and leadership, time management, introduction to patriotism studies, critical thinking and perception of reality, transformative discipline and innovative work methods, Parish Development Model, and various other lectures.
“Your Excellency, we are certain that the course participants have gained knowledge which will enhance their performance levels and at the same time, help them to mobilise their people for government programs implementation,” he said.
He praised Nabbanja for her ability to rally a significant number of participants and acknowledge the significance of NALI in preparing Ugandans for socio-economic progress.
Tadeo Wasswa Zilitwawula, who represented the participants, said the training had enhanced their leadership skills and prepared them to serve their constituents more effectively.
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“Your Excellency, we commit to be Ambassadors in our respective areas of jurisdiction to continue using the competences we have gained in patriotism, socio- economic transformation, Pan- Africanism, EastAfrican Integration, financial literacy, among other subjects,” he noted.
He also appealed to the President to fast-track the operationalization of Bunyoro University.
“The issue of location which is the main hindrance can easily be resolved by your intervention so that the University can
open its gates to students,” Zilitwawula noted.
He also requested the President as the National Chairperson of the NRM to direct the party secretariat to rotate the district registrars and administrators in various districts every after an election to ensure transparency in the NRM primary elections.
“Your Excellency, we have observed that the NRM structures are not very active after elections. We therefore request you as the party chairman to devise means of empowering these structures for effective service delivery for our people,” he added