As Museveni wraps up his Teso sub-region campaigns, there is enthusiasm among the party leadership and supporters who turned up in droves to welcome him.
Museveni has been to the districts of Katakwi, Amuria, Kapelebyong, Serere, Ngora, Kumi and Bukedea, all areas that have voted for him in the previous elections.
His message has been consolidating the gains in development, preservation of peace and wealth creation for improved household income.
The NRM flag-bearer has asked the voters to give him another term to consolidate the achievements, including peace that has returned to the sub-region, after decades of cattle rustling by the marauding Karimojong warriors and the subsequent insurgency.
Museveni has also talked about infrastructure development, such as electricity that has been extended to most parts of the region, increased classroom blocks for the Universal Primary Education and Universal Secondary Education, as well as the planned tarmacking of the road network.
For the people in this region, major achievements include the disarmament of the Karimojong. Mzee Tom Malinga, an elder in Toroma, Katakwi district and also the former Member of Parliament for Usuk County, said: “The people of Teso shall be ever grateful to President Museveni and his government for disarming the Karimojong warriors that had made life in this part of the region hell.”
He is also excited over the ferry due to be launched to link Kumi and Katakwi districts through Lake Bisina.
Museveni has also promised to tarmack the Soroti-Katakwi- Moroto road and a second ferry on Lake Bisina. The restocking exercise he said, would begin soon, with sh20b budgeted for every year until the exercise is concluded; this has been one of the thorny issues in the region.
Museveni said the total budget for compensation will stand at sh400b.
The NRM candidate has emphasised government provision of start-up capital to SACCOS, from where people will borrow and start businesses that will get them out of poverty.
A Vision Group survey of 6,626 Ugandans of voting age across the country in June found that poverty is a major issue that voters in this region want addressed.
Though the NRM is dominant in the region, especially the north Teso, the Opposition leaders, especially the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), during campaigns advance arguments of marginalisation by the current regime for the past three decades, leading to persistent poverty in the region, rampant corruption, and failure to compensate people who lost their cattle during insurgency and to cattle rustlers, for their challenge on Museveni.
“Service delivery in Teso is poor, compared to the western part of the country. The quality of education is worse and the state of roads is appalling,” said FDC’s Angeline Osegge the Woman MP for Soroti district. She further accuses the Government of failing to protect the Iteso and their property, including cattle that the people of Teso depended on for educating their children.
The Opposition had also capitalised on what they term as failure to share seats on Cabinet. Kasilo County MP Elijah Okupa, an FDC politician, recently told voters that if Dr. Kizza Besigye is voted into power, he will give Teso more Cabinet ministers and senior positions in Government.
“Under President Museveni, Teso has had only junior ministers who are far from the kitchen,” Okupa said.
Until last month, Teso had one Cabinet minister Jessica Alupo. The others are Christine Amongin Aporu, the state minister for Teso affairs, Musa Ecweru state for disaster, Agnes Akiror state for tourism and Gen. Jeje Odongo, the state for defence.
Museveni recently named Bukedea Woman MP Rose Akol as minister for internal affairs. The Opposition also use the delay in tarmacking Soroti- Mbale road to de-campaign the ruling party. They claim that the road is sub-standard and cannot last for many years.
For UPC’s Okitoi Erisat, the LC5 councillor for Kapelebony and the aspiring LC5 for Amuria district, failure by the current regime to fight corruption is responsible for the suffering of the people of Teso.
“Some corrupt NRM leaders connived to grab the land of the people of Kapelebony. Because the system is rotten, our cries have not been listened to. So, if we continue to keep the NRM regime, much of our properties shall be taken away from us,” Okitoi stated.
But the NRM leadership in Teso are saying the NRM will liberate the few areas still being held by the Opposition especially the FDC. The NRM vice-chairperson of eastern region, Capt. Mike Mukula, said all the issues the Opposition is raising are covered in the ruling party’s manifesto for 2016-2021.
“The Government has already invested on the roads sector and electricity to promote productivity and growth of small scale enterprises to enhance job creation.
Museveni, while wrapping up his campaign trail in Teso on Tuesday, said: “It is not true that we have not done anything. We have been paying sh20b per year. It is a difficult process because some people over claimed. In principle, we are going to help compensate those people, now that the other issues have been handled, we are going to focus on this.”
On the issue of rampant unemployment in the region, Mukula said the Government had already come up with a programme of re-skilling all the youth who have completed education, but have not got jobs so that they are able to get employed.
“The party has recorded high turn up of Opposition defectors. In Kaberamido alone, I have received over 1,000 and more are still surrendering to us,” boasted Kaberamido MP Kenneth Omona.
Dr. Omona, also the party deputy national treasurer, said Opposition supporters have seen the light from the NRM government that has fulfilled many pledges. He said the Government is handling the compensation of the people who lost their cattle to Karimojong rustlers and to the insurgency that ravaged Teso for over a decade.
“Government has bought a ferry for connecting Kumi district and Katakwi, electricity has reached Katakwi for the first time,” Omona enumerated.
Charles Elasu, the NRM chairman for Soroti district, explained that the Government had started a restocking exercise and many families had received cattle in the programme. He also said tarmacking the Soroti- Mbale road was one of the key things the Opposition was dwelling on, but it is already accomplished.
“People are tired of Opposition lies that the Government is neglecting them because many have received restocking cows, free citrus seedlings and roads being worked on,” said Elasu.
