Government to set up Pastors Fund

BUSIA - The Government is in the process of establishing pastors' fund which will enable the Born-Again churches carry out their development programmes, according to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party national treasurer Barbara Nekesa Oundo.

The Born-Again movement, according to Oundo, is currently among some sectors that don’t get direct support from the Government of Uganda.

She disclosed that they had engaged Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and they agreed to set up a modest Born-Again churches fund.

She was on December 11, 2025, addressing thousands of pastors from Bukedi, Bugisu, Sebei, Soroti and parts of Busoga regions under the umbrella Stewards of Grace International at Busia Border Primary School in Busia district.

Nekesa said churches entirely depend on worshipers to fund programmes, hence emphasising the importance of Born-Again church leaders to mobilise their sheep to engage in income-generation to support the churches.

She, however, encouraged the churches to embrace the money economy by utilising the ongoing government programmes like the Parish Development Model and Emyooga, among others, to fight poverty.

Only a handful of pastors raised their hands when asked to indicate they are benefitting from government programmes.

Oundo appealed to the pastors to vote for the NRM presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni on January 15, saying that the NRM government has ensured freedom of worship, which gives the pastors chance to set up churches and even sometimes operate even when not registered.

We are discriminated against

Bishop Georg Washakina said the Born-Again churches exist because of the peace, stability and freedom put in place by the NRM establishment.

He, however, decried that most local government officers discriminate against them when registering people for poverty-fighting interventions.

“Pastors are financially gambling yet everywhere we go, people, including our sheep, expect us to support them,” he said, adding that they are going to preach the gospel and do NRM mobilisation.

Pastor John Vincent Bwire, the chaplain of the organisation, said they had set up saving and credit saving cooperative and encouraged members to save but also appealed to government to inject in funds.

Throughout the 5 hour long meeting, the pastors kept chatting about the NRM slogan, praising Museveni for giving the unprecedented freedom to do ministry work.