By Mulengera Reporters
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate, General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has seen and understood the real challenges facing the people of Bukomansimbi District in Greater Masaka, Buddu.
During a campaign rally at Mirembe Muslim Primary School playground on Monday, NRM leaders laid bare the struggles of the leading coffee-growing district.
The Bukomansimbi District NRM Chairperson, Hajji Shafik Mwanje, officially handed a district memorandum to the President, highlighting the urgent needs of the community. He explained that while nearly every home is surrounded by coffee plantations, the district lacks a coffee processing factory to add value to their produce. He also stressed that although over 500 coffee seedlings had been provided, more are still needed for every local farmer to benefit.
Mwanje added that electricity remains a problem: while the town has power, many villages are still in the dark. He also reminded the President that the Muslim community has never received the 500,000 shillings he promised them years ago.
Speaker of Parliament and Second Vice National Chairperson of NRM, Anita Among, took the stage and pointed out that Bukomansimbi’s coffee farmers urgently need micro-irrigation projects to boost production.
President Museveni listened carefully and responded with concrete promises. He pledged to introduce both micro and mega irrigation schemes to support coffee farmers, aimed at increasing farm yields and modernizing agriculture. The President noted that this initiative would be modeled on the successful Presidential Banana Development Initiative in Bushenyi District and adapted for Bukomansimbi.
Museveni also promised to fast-track the expansion of government education infrastructure in the district. He assured that the number of government-aided primary and secondary schools would increase significantly beyond the current 22 primary schools and seven secondary schools.
At the rally, Museveni cautioned residents not to confuse general development with personal wealth creation. He stressed that while government provides infrastructure and services, building wealth is an individual responsibility.
He encouraged the youth to focus on local opportunities and avoid unguided rural-to-urban migration. To inspire them, he cited several local farmers who have amassed billions of shillings through agriculture under NRM-supported programs.
The President went further, promising increased funding for wealth creation initiatives. He said more capital would be available through revolving funds such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Youth Livelihood Programme, and Women Empowerment Fund.
Infrastructure also took center stage. Museveni confirmed plans to tarmac key roads, including the Sembabule–Mateete–Mbirizi road, Mateete–Kibinge–Kyabakuza road, and Villa Maria–Kyamulibwa–Kabulasoke road. He explained that road development follows the NRM government’s strategy of prioritizing major routes first.
Museveni highlighted that nearly four decades of peace and stability under NRM have created a strong foundation for development. He credited the party’s politics of unity and cohesion with strengthening national institutions and promoting prosperity.
He urged the people of Bukomansimbi not to gamble with Uganda’s peace and stability and called on them to re-elect him and NRM leaders for another term to sustain development and socio-economic transformation.
Finally, the President guided residents on viable wealth creation enterprises, emphasizing the four-acre model initiative as a pathway to increased household income.
Bukomansimbi residents left the rally knowing that their problems had not only been heard but understood at the very top.
President Museveni’s promises signal that change on the ground is coming and that the coffee-rich district may soon reap the rewards of government attention and modernized agriculture. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
