NRM’s victory: Renewed mandate for unity, peace and hard work

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OPINION

By Milly Babirye Babalanda

Last Thursday, Ugandans took to the polls to elect the president and MPs. By God’s grace, the mantle of leading this great country returned to our hero and liberator, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. With immense gratitude, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our jajja and father of the nation, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, upon this emphatic victory.

Ugandans renewing your mandate with 71.6% of the vote is a clear and convincing endorsement. It is a powerful affirmation of the trust the majority of our people continue to place in your proven leadership, vision and steady guidance of our country.

In the same breath, I also take this opportunity to thank, most sincerely, the people of Budhiope West for the confidence they have shown in me by electing me their MP. This victory, which the good Lord granted me against six other contestants, was not accidental. It was anchored in a people-centred manifesto, efficient mobilisation and a shared belief that wealth creation and poverty eradication must remain at the centre of our politics. I am deeply humbled by the 16,004 votes the people of Budhiope West gave me, and I fully commit to serving with diligence and integrity.

Let’s keep peace

As I have severally said in these very pages, elections are a means for us to align our country through getting credible leadership determined by ourselves.

However, it is important to understand that beyond elections, there is the humongous but noble task of building the nation to ensure its development and prosperity. I am delighted to remind you, brothers and sisters, that this call to work with patriotism and renewed energies was clearly delivered by the President during his victory speech at Rwakitura, Kiruhura district.

Clearly, he reminded us that elections are not an end in themselves but a means to secure peace, stability and socio-economic transformation. But we can only secure these precious achievements if we reject confusion and embrace discipline. This is why I commend all Ugandans who kept, and are still keeping peace during and after last week’s elections. This is what our country needs!

Transformation promise still alive

In the same speech, the President reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to accelerating poverty eradication by moving more Ugandan households from subsistence to commercial production.

He underscored the need to modernise agriculture, expand irrigation, improve access to quality inputs and markets, and strengthen cooperatives so that farmers can earn sustainably.

The President also reiterated the Government’s focus on value addition — ensuring that Uganda exports finished or semi-finished products rather than raw materials — thereby creating jobs and retaining wealth within our economy.

As a disciple of the President’s vision for this country, I strongly associate myself with this message. Our country has paid a heavy price in the past for instability.

We must never return there; therefore, I am pleased that the President reiterated the Government’s commitment to secure the country and its people. To ensure that we preserve the peace we see today, I call upon all stakeholders in the Thursday election — mostly the winners and losers — to respect the will of the people.

Let us resolve any disputes peacefully and reject incitement because political competition must never be allowed to degenerate into hostility among citizens who must continue living and working together long after elections. With the first phase of the electoral cycle concluded, the next five years demand a collective shift from politics to productivity. Under the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the transformation agenda remains firmly anchored in wealth creation, job creation, and improved service delivery.

This requires discipline, hard work, and accountability from leaders, and active participation from citizens. The Government will play its part by providing an enabling environment, but individuals and communities must seize the opportunities available.

There should not be room for ceaseless politicking and relentless ruing of missed political opportunities.

I call upon my fellow leaders to now focus on the implementation of the NRM vision of Protecting the Gains through multiplication and consolidation of what has been achieved so far. Remember, this is the oil kisanja as clearly highlighted by the President.

But be that as it is, we must prepare our people and also ready our duty stations so as to ensure that policies translate into tangible benefits at the household level.

For my part, as Minister for the Presidency and MP-elect for Budhiope West, I am committed to mobilising my constituents to fully participate in government programmes aimed at increasing incomes, creating jobs, and improving livelihoods.

Uganda stands at an important moment, and so, the next five years will be very decisive in our journey out of poverty. Our work as Ugandans is to sniff every available opportunity so that each one of us stands to be part of this amazing transformation journey.

It is then that we shall all be in a position to secure a more prosperous future for our country.

The writer is the Minister for the Presidency and MP-elect for Budhiope West Constituency