OVERWHELMED BY POVERTY IN BUSOGA, M7 ASKS ‘HOW DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH THIS?’

By Mulengera Reporters 

Speaking at Kyando in Mayuge district where he presided over the inaugural Bishop James Hannington Day this Saturday afternoon, President Museveni has registered his dismay and apprehension at the rate at which poverty has been intensifying in Busoga sub region.

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“I have been peeping through my car window as I travelled here for this function and I have kept wondering to myself how do these people live through this sort of poverty? I have screened through all these villages where I have passed but the houses and all the other things I have seen have left me wondering how it’s possible for our people to survive through these hard economic conditions,” said Museveni who Basoga voters shunned in 2021 in favor of NUP’s Bobi Wine.

Wondering why all the big-name NRM leaders from Busoga haven’t been able to lead their people into inclusive economic transformation similar to what the rest of the country is experiencing, Museveni also responded to Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakaddama (also Mayuge Woman MP) who, in an earlier speech, had reported to him that many young people in Busoga had fallen on hard times and were living destitute life because the sugarcane project had failed to deliver the desired transformation.

He said he had seen very far many years ago and preached against over reliance on sugar cane growing which he believes should be left for the rich who can do it on real large scale as opposed to peasant households living on one acre. At the prompting of MP and former Minister Aggrey Bagiire who was the day’s MC and translator of his speech, Museveni suggested that popularizing palm oil growing should become the best way forward for the transformation of Busoga sub region. He also demanded for the strengthening of SACCOs in the area. He personally contributed Shs20m into the SACCO for Kyando village residents.

Besides promising to work on some of the area roads in Mayuge, which is one of the districts where Kyagulanyi’s 2021 support was highest, Museveni also thanked Rebecca Kadaga for supporting development in Mayuge by putting up a modern hotel near the Bishop Hannington memorial grounds. She also saluted her for repeatedly reminding him about the need to develop the Hannington shrine to the level of Namugongo shrines in Kampala.

Museveni also announced a number of infrastructural interventions his government will be putting in place to boost tourism activities around the James Hannington shrine in Kyando village whose LC1 Chairman he gave Shs5m to buy a motorcycle to ease his transport needs as he goes around serving his people.

The things he promised include a huge modern Cathedral in memory of Bishop Hannington whose murder he blamed on narrow-minded leadership of Ugandan kings of that time. He wondered why those kings would kill a harmless preacher who had only the Bible instead of confronting the British colonialists themselves to defend African independence so as to shield Uganda against being colonized.

He apologized on behalf of those narrow-minded kings and demanded that a committee be put in place to travel to Europe and trace Bishop James Hannington’s family and relatives so that the GoU officially apologizes to them for the wrongful killing of their person who was the first European mission or martyr to be killed on the Ugandan soil because of his faith.

Museveni also launched a book by UCU’s Patrick Magumba documenting the life and times of Bishop Hannington whose memorial day will, effective next year, be celebrated annually as a public holiday. Archbishop Kazimba Mugalu prayed for Museveni’s long stay in power and life besides thankink Ministers Rebecca Kadaga and Parsis Namuganza for being such effective emissaries of Church of Uganda inside the Central government.

Kazimba said that it’s because of the duo’s relentless efforts that President Museveni had contributed the Shs300m for the Hannington Day besides leading Cabinet-level efforts to have the same celebrated annually as a public holiday. Before ending his speech, Gen Museveni also offered Shs20m to the area councilors’ SACCO and another Shs30m into the SACCO of the NRM chairpersons in Mayuge.

Museveni also blamed some of the economic misery in Busoga and other parts of rural Uganda on heads of UPE and USE schools who impose extortionist charges unto children from poor homes whose parents are struggling to make ends meet. See related story: https://mulengeranews.com/chaos-at-hannington-day-as-busoga-leaders-fight-over-musevenis-shs300m/ (For comments on this story, call, text or whatsapp us on 0705579994 [whatsapp line], 0779411734, 0200900416 or email us atmulengera2040@gmail.com).