Bukenya reveals his five point program for Uganda

By Moses Mulondo

FORMER Vice President Prof. Gilbert Balibaseka Bukenya has outlined his five point program which he will use to revolutionize Uganda when he becomes President.

Bukenya revealed the five programs on Saturday at his campaign office in Nansana while meeting about 50 supporters from NRM, DP, FDC, and SDP who urged him to stand as the joint opposition candidate in the 2016 presidential elections.

The Busiro North MP promised to concentrate most of the country’s resources on agriculture, education, health, industrialization, and elimination of corruption as his five points program which will catapult Uganda to greater heights when he becomes President. 

Arguing that President Yoweri Museveni’s government has been giving lip service on the social-economic needs of Ugandans, Prof. Bukenya said his government would bring down poverty and provide better social services.

“You cannot fight poverty by giving cash hand outs to citizens. Real economic growth comes as a result of government’s massive investment in productive projects which create jobs for citizens,” Bukenya argued. 

Referring his highly successful upland rice scheme and other agricultural initiatives, Bukenya said he has already demonstrated to Ugandans his capacity to create wealth for all Ugandans through commercial farming.  

“Our education institutions are in crises and teachers are poorly paid. Our hospitals have become death traps. If I become president, this will be history. Dr. Milton Obote and Idi Amini gave this nation better social services than Museveni’s government has done,” he said.      

The professor of medicine reassured his supporters that nothing would stop him from standing for president in 2016. 

He explained that unlike the current industrialization which is led by foreign companies, his government would give so much priority to empowering citizens to start industries.

“Why should we continue giving trillions of our money to foreigners to construct our roads? Don’t we have Uganda engineers who can do the work? Nations develop faster with booming local small scale and large scale industries,” Bukenya explained.

He appealed to all democracy seeking forces and lovers of change to be united under one electoral platform to be able to unseat President Yoweri Museveni from power.

“Everyone saw how our unity in the Luwero by-election gave us victory against President Museveni’s candidate. That is the way. With unity, no one will have the capacity to steal our votes,” he reasoned.

Casting President’s Museveni’s government for being tribalistic, Bukenya said he advocates for a government where all Ugandans will treated equally by creating systems which will enable people enter public offices on basis on their competence regardless of their ethnicity and political inclinations.

NRM’s Frank Kigozi, who coordinated Bukenya’s supporters, said, “President Museveni has played his part. 30 years in power are more enough for him. Let him accept to retire. Prof. Bukenya will protect Museveni when he becomes president.”

Kijjambu Bukenya, the UYD vice chairman for Kampala, said there are many DP leaders who will campaign for Bukenya in 2016. 

Responding to Bukenya’s remarks, the NRM spokesperson Mary Karooro Okurut said, “President Museveni and the NRM government know the interests of Ugandans better than Bukenya and any other political actor. That is why people continue to overwhelmingly vote for Museveni. There is every indication that even in 2016, Ugandans will overwhelmingly vote for Museveni. Bukenya is whistling in the wind.”