MUSEVENI | MPs | WEALTH CREATION 

KYANKWANZI - President Yoweri Museveni has re-affirmed the cardinal mission of the NRM government since 1986 as being committed to ensuring national minimum economic recovery and expansion.

“Today, Uganda exports 60 million kilogrammes of tea, 70 million bags of coffee, the production of cotton has increased, and tourism has been the main national foreign exchange earner before the COVID-19 outbreak,” he said.

He was addressing the NRM MPs-elect currently at a retreat under-going a political induction course at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) on the issue of the NRM manifesto implementation.

This was during the session on political accountability and analysis of NRM manifesto of 2016-2021 themed ‘Kisanja Hakuna Mchezo’, presented by the Prime Minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, and the way forward for the NRM manifesto of 2021-2026 presented by the NRM Deputy Secretary General, Richard Todwong.

President Museveni said the national economy continues to grow rapidly because all the food crops, including dairy products, have been turned into cash generating items. 

He appealed to the newly elected legislators to emphasize the question of wealth and job creation at homestead level.

“A political leader who wants to be serving for some time must look at the strategy of implementing and solving the problems of wealth and job creation plan for the people,” he said.

The NRM national chairman said it is important to emphasize commercial agriculture and value addition by establishing factories to strengthen the infrastructure base as an engine of development.

NRM newly elected legislators for the 11th Parliament attending a retreat at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi. (PPU)

Museveni further noted that his message about sensitizing people on wealth creation was a clear testimony, citing people from the cattle corridor areas, who listened to him from 1966 to date and those of Bundibugyo district that has been pragmatic in agriculture practices.

In his presentation, PM Rugunda said the manifesto implementation is rated at 95% of performance.

He said that to arrive at this level, performance was based on the guidance by 23 directives issued by President Museveni at the first cabinet meeting in June 2016.

“The 23 directives highlighted the critical priority areas that needed to be attended to in order to achieve the government goals”, he said.

Rugunda said the most notable and accomplished elements in the NRM manifesto 2016-2021 are power generation that was increased from 925MW in 2016 to the current 1254MW and targeting the total capacity of 2000W in the near future.

The target is to develop the oil and gas sector after the signing of the oil exploration agreement between the oil companies and government witnessed by President Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart Samoa Suluhu Hassan.

Others are the Uganda Airlines that has been revamped by buying four aircraft, the construction of tarmac roads of 1,452km countrywide, extension of clean and safe water to 38,517 villages out of 57,974 villages in the country, expansion of health centres at all levels to serve 86% of the population living within 5km of reach, industrialization sector, tourism, education sector, prioritizing investment in agriculture, construction of irrigation schemes, etc.

Rugunda, however, noted that corruption has been undermining different efforts invested to achieve government targets, and he called upon the newly elected MPs to monitor and take interest in government programmes.

“That effort would empower the legislators with information to enable them to perform their duties and strengthen the NRM party,” he said.

Discussing the presentation of NRM manifesto implementation, NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba said there is need to work together to achieve what has not been accomplished.

She called for voluntarism and selflessness as a commitment to monitoring implementation.

Her deputy, Richard Todwong, took the NRM MPs-elect through the highlights of the NRM Manifesto 2021-2026, saying that the NRM has recorded all the achievements based on the past six explicit and constructive manifestos.