President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has appealed to the people of Busoga Sub-region to ensure that they have a source of income to help them fight poverty and create wealth.
“I’m very happy to be here to see how people are getting out of darkness because this is really darkness; in a country like this to find that you people have no source of money in a home. This is not what I can accept,” he said.
The President made the remarks today while visiting the home of Ms. Buwala Tolofisa, situated at Kalamira village, Northward zone, Namutumba Town Council, Namutumba District. Ms. Tolofisa is one of the beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in the district.
The visit is part of President Museveni’s 4-day wealth creation and PDM performance assessment tour in Busoga sub-region which commenced today.
According to President Museveni, he has been preaching the gospel of wealth creation since the 1960s when he was still a student.
“This is what I started in the 1960s. In our area of Ankole we had the same problem. We had leaders who only thought of the elite. So I said how can this be? Because by 1960, Ankole was a very big district but you could count people who had household incomes. There were a few families in Bushenyi which grew coffee,” he said.
“In my district of Ntungamo, there were like five or four families in one sub county with some coffee, the rest were just there with no money. Uganda is very rich with fertile land, abundant water, among others but no money. So this is what I could not accept.”
He further noted that his wealth creation gospel has been successful because those who have listened to his advice, have been able to thrive.
“I started mobilising the traditional cattle keepers whom they used to undermine. The cattle keepers were practicing nomadic pastoralism in Ankole. We started to mobilise them in 1966 when we were still students. By the time Amin came we were beginning to move, we had to interrupt our work for 16 years and when I came back in 1986, we resumed,” he said.
“We started with Bonna bagagawale. I don’t want villages where some people are rich while others are poor. When we came into government, I had to do my experiment first in North Ankole, then by 1995, I was sure that it could work. That’s how I travelled the whole country telling you that you people get out of poverty.”
Additionally, President Museveni revealed that some opposition political parties are doomed to fail due to their negative stance against the good government programs aimed at alleviating Ugandans from poverty.
“That’s what NUP has been telling people in Buganda that don’t accept the coffee seedlings from the government,they are bad seeds meant to keep you in poverty. That’s what is going to destroy NUP, you will hear next time, NUP is finished.”
On the other hand, President Museveni disclosed that the government decided to come up with the PDM initiative in order to enable the citizens to manage the wealth creation funds themselves at parish level in order to achieve efficiency.
“The Parish committee just helps us to identify the beneficiaries but the money goes directly to the farmers. There have been some mistakes here and there, where some people have been cutting off some money but we are going to arrest all those. Each farmer must get Sh1 million full,” he explained.
“This money is your money. It will never come back to the government. I’m just here to check and get examples. Success will spread if we are able to get more beneficiaries like Tolofisa. Others will join in after understanding that it is possible.”
President Museveni also contributed Shs30 million to Ms. Tolofisa; Shs12 million to buy two more cows, Shs6 million for a motorcycle and Shs12 million for an acre of land.
“As you have heard she has got a problem of pasture because the land she has is not enough to help her grow her own pasture.”
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga said she is the overall coordinator of PDM in Busoga and that the initiative is doing well in the subregion.
Busiki County Member of Parliament, Hon. Akamba Paul commended President Museveni for empowering Namutumba District through effective service delivery in the sectors of health, education and infrastructure development such as roads.
He added that the people of Namutumba are very hardworking and they embraced the PDM initiative wholeheartedly.
“Thank you President Museveni for helping our people to fight poverty, we are really grateful, Your Excellency.”
Hon. Naigaga Mariam, the Namutumba District Woman Member of Parliament also thanked President Museveni for loving Namutumba and Busoga at large.
Ms. Tolofisa informed the President that she received Shs1m PDM money and she added Shs250,000 of her savings to buy cattle worth Shs1.25m.
She said the cow now gives her 10 litres of milk daily.
“I drink two litres and sell eight. The money from the milk helps me to look after my home,”Ms. Tolofisa noted.
The visit was also attended by the 3rd Deputy Prime Minister, Rt.Hon. Rukia Nakadama, the Minister of State for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Persis Namuganza, Members of Parliament, among others.
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