President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday urged the people of Serere district not to accept to be misled by opposition politicians who he said want to disrupt the economic, social and political progress registered in the country.
While addressing Serere voters at the two venues of Kadungulu and Ochaapa, Museveni, who is the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, said the NRM party is like a good driver who has steered the country well during difficult times, and now that things are getting better, the Opposition is saying the NRM should go away.
“Do not be misled. NRM is a good driver. We have brought development, but now there are people who are saying go away,” he said, apparently referring to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye and the Go Forward leader, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.
“We have been driving when roads were bad, when there were rebels everywhere. Cattle rustlers were disturbing you. Now we have got money. The roads are getting better. There is peace everywhere. I appeal to Ugandans to keep their good drivers.
“I appeal to the people of Serere to vote for the old man with a hat and all the party flag-bearers,” Museveni said to cheers from the crowds.
NRM flag-bearers
The NRM flag-bearer introduced Hellen Adoa for district Woman MP, Joseph Opit Okojo for LC5 chairman, Patrick Okabe for Serere county and George Owanyi for Kasilo county.
He also introduced Cosmus Elotu for Dakabela county in Soroti, Racheal Adyango for Soroti Woman MP, Peter Ojur for Soroti Municipality MP and George William Egunyu for Soroti LC5 chairman.
Museveni, who has been in South Africa for the second Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, yesterday resumed his campaign trail in Teso with rallies in Kasilo, Serere, Dakabela and Soroti municipality.
Flanked by the NRM eastern region vice-chairman, Capt. Mike Mukula; Teso affairs state minister Christine Amongin Aporu and other top NRM officials, Museveni catalogued many achievements of the NRM government, including in the education sector, rural electrification, building roads and healthcare.
New members
Museveni also received hundreds of FDC, Go Forward and Uganda People’s Congress supporters who defected to the ruling party at rallies in Sapir Primary School, Ochaapa, Kyere, Kadungulu in Kasilo county and Soroti municipality, including David Eroku, the Go Foward co-ordinator in Soroti.
The President, who said the people of Teso did not vote him in 2006, added: “I said it is okay I will remain your father, but in 2011, the people of Teso saw that I cared for them and they voted for me massively.”
Museveni described NRM as a party of unity that does not discriminate against people basing on tribe or religion. He said the concept of unity is what has ensured peace in the country. “NRM’s first target was unity. After uniting the people, the NRM garnered strength, which has led to development,” Museveni said.
NRM priorities
Museveni said the NRM government has been able to manage the running of the country because of the prioritisation of the most urgent services like infrastructure development, beginning with roads and electric power, education and health services.
He said other things would follow later, according to priority.
“You cannot handle all the problems at the same time, because if you try that, you will fail. We tried prioritisation in the bush and it worked. We started with only 27 guns and were able to overthrow a whole government,” Museveni stated as the ecstatic crowd cheered on, waving yellow flags bearing the candidate’s photo.
The NRM candidate listed his next priorities after the elections as: increased funds to the National Agricultural Advisory Services programme, and more financing to the youth fund, women’s fund and microfinance and an innovation fund to support scientists. He said the Government would next year take up provision of scholastic materials to primary pupils and provide sanitary pads to school-going girls.
Museveni explained that in many communities, the lack of sanitary towels is one of the reasons girls drop out of school.
Quoting a famous saying that “When you educate a girl-child you have educated the nation”, the President said an educated girl is good for her family and the country as well, because she is key to the wellbeing of the family and the whole country.”
He told of how his wife, Janet Museveni, was able to take care of his family while he struggled for 13 years for the liberation of Uganda, saying it was only possible because his wife was educated.
Unemployment
Museveni observed that the universities in Uganda today churn out 40,000 graduates every year compared to 800 in 1986. This, he said, was a problem, but a good problem. “We used to have uneducated people, but now we have educated people without jobs.
“One way of solving this is to help these people start businesses. We have started the youth fund, although it still has some problems. The other is re-skilling these people in computer and other practical skills that can get them jobs and self-employment,” he added.
Simon Oibi, a youth and an information communication technology specialist, observed that there is need to address the issue of youth unemployment. Another youth, Catherine Atim, said there was need for industrialisation in the Teso region so that the factories can employ the youth.
More on Museveni’s list of priorities
Constantly interrupted by the ululating crowd, clad in yellow, Museveni told the people of Serere and Kasilo that it was only the NRM government that had been able to extend electricity to the district.
Electric power has already been extended to Serere and Bugondo and Kyere, Kamusala, Kateta. The secondary schools and trading centres around would soon get power too, he said. On education, the target of the Government, Museveni said, was to have a government-aided primary school in every parish, a secondary school in every sub-county and a technical school in every constituency.
Serere, he said, has 181 primary schools with only nine parishes without government schools. For secondary school, Museveni said Serere has nine schools with only three subcounties having none. He said the Government was working on extending power to the trading centres of Ochaapa, while plans exist for Kidetok, Kadungulu and Iningo.
Museveni said Ojama is expected to get a dam. The candidate also revealed that the Government plans to start irrigation within the district.
“We get a lot of water during the rainy season. We can trap this water that is disturbing us during the rainy season and use it during the dry season,” Museveni stated.
The road works in the region, he said, started with the Soroti- Otuboi-Dokolo-Lira road that has been tarmacked, and the focus would now shift to Soroti- Katakwi-Iiri-Matany-Moroto road, which has already been budgeted for.
Museveni said the Pallisa- Tirinyi-Kumi and Kumi-Ngora- Kagwara-Soroti roads would also be tarmacked, while a ferry would be introduced to connect Serere to Kamuli.
Pan Africanism
The NRM candidate also delved into Pan Africanism, saying African countries need each other. He justifi ed the existence of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in Somali, saying when there is peace in our neighbourhood, we are able to conduct business peacefully.
“When I sent soldiers to Somalia, some people were asking why. Such people are like someone inside his house and does not know what is happening in the garden, does not know what is happening to his cows in the bush,” Museveni said while addressing people at Soroti Sports Ground late in the evening.
Responding to the issue of city status for Soroti, raised by Capt. Mukula, who is also the municipality MP, Museveni said Soroti must meet the required population of 300,000 people like it was the case on Kampala in the 1960s when it was created.
Soroti has less than 300,000 people.
Museveni hailed the people of Teso for embarking on large-scale farming, especially citrus fruits.
“When I was flying over, I saw large gardens of oranges and mangoes. This shows that the people have embraced Operation Wealth Creation that was introduced late last year,” Museveni said.
Although the President was happy with this development, Steven Odolon, 61, an LC1 chairman of Otucho village in Arapai Dakabela and other fruit farmers felt disappointed that there is no market for the fruits.
“The traders come and set their prices and we have no alternative. The Government should revive co-operatives so that we can bargain and look for market as a group,” he said.
He also called for the construction of the fruit factory in Soroti to be expedited.
