A rush and harsh punitive action to suspend the five leaders of the National Unity Platform (NRM) already seems to have done damage irreparable to Kamwokya.
Local online news website- Mulengera, with audio evidence, reported disgruntled voices declaring Bobi Wine unwanted in Busoga, further pointing to the seriousness of the matter.
For starters, Bobi Wine stunned the ruling National Resistance Movement(NRM) in the recent general elections after winning in eight of the eleven districts of Busoga. President Museveni had prior enjoyed enviable electoral domination in the sub-region, winning on each of the previous occasions since 1996. Although Bobi Wine pushed Museveni into the polls, there was a glimmer of hope since NRM dominated at the Parliamentary and local council levels.
The reason behind the upset has largely been debatable but negative propaganda could have played a starring role.
With only three leaders in key electoral positions, ( Kasolo, Manjeeri Kyebakutikka and Lulenzi Bamu), Kamwokya badly needed cohesion to consolidate their miracle surge in the sub-region.
Officials at Kyadondo must have been scratching their heads over how the party will reclaim its dominance at the next polls which are just over two years ahead.
The angel of good luck has struck at just the right time for the party in yellow to pounce and repossess what has been naturally theirs for a long time.
The loss of mobilisation cogs in Moses Bigirwa, Bamu Lulenzi, Jamal Mukuve, Saulo Nsongambi and Muwanguzi Andrew has added salt to an already dilapidating wound. They may not be too significant to influence what Kyafondo needs to do to reverse the situation in Busoga, but an open door policy of NRM is a welcome bonus in comparing where its best to belong.
2026 is fast approaching and every human resource will be needed to boost any camp that will stand any chance of reigning supreme over others. With a commendable record of service delivery so far, it’s expected that better mobilisation technique is all that will be necessary to convince Busoga into reversing their ill-fated decision in 2021.
The establishment of an Industrial Hub in Jinja is projected to train hundreds of thousands of youthful human capital by 2026. This will in turn transform lives economically and go a long way in solving unemployment, one of the key challenges the Basoga have faced in the past.
The price of sugar cane which has evolved into an important cash crop seems to have been solved already. With the current price boom, farmers are smiling once again. Hopefully, it remains like this for longer.
The effective implementation of the Parish Development Model poverty alleviation interventions the governments further backed to ease the work of NRM mobilisers come 2026.
As per the NRM Manifesto promise of creating wealth, the Parish Development Model(PDM) is the strategy to pull 3.5 million Ugandans from the subsistence economy to the money economy. Despite efforts by the government through earlier interventions such as Entandiikwa, prosperity for all, and NAADS, poverty has persisted.
Operation WealthbCreation (OWC) should, however, be credited for pulling the country from 68% subsidence to only 39% which is still high according to President Museveni.
The President has been there for Busoga and set up a demonstration farm in Mayuge to teach best practices to the people. How many are partaking of this knowledge he often shares with people? For Busoga Sub-region to reduce the alarming levels of poverty in the homesteads, there should be strategic community engagement experts, with natural interaction and communication skills to educate the masses on the relevant government programmes which will all be addressed by PDM.
Once this information has trickled down to the people we shall see steady income generation at household levels which in turn will contribute to the NRM 2021-2026 Manifesto, NDP III, Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Global agenda of SDG 2030.
The ruling side will thus move with heads up presenting report cards on hand to undo the mistake made in 2021 and the region will be yellow again.
The writer is the Deputy RCC for Soroti East Division in Soroti City
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