Ankole voters say service delivery gaps are deep as FDC’s Nandala promises revival

MITOOMA - With 34 days remaining for Ugandans to decide the next five-year government, residents in the districts of Rubirizi, Mitooma and Ntungamo have raised what they have termed as their pressing concerns.

They say persistent service delivery gaps have left many families struggling despite years of political promises.

The three districts, located in the Ankole region, are widely considered strongholds of the ruling party National Resistance Movement (NRM). This is depicted through the rare display of Opposition candidate posters and Opposition political parties failing to field candidates.

Nandala received cheering crowds, even making a brief stop in Ishaka and Bushenyi to greet his supporters before continuing to Mitooma. (All Photos by Alfred Ochwo)

In Katenga, Mitooma, Amos Mwebesa, an FDC supporter, expressed mixed feelings about the current state of service provision. He commended the NRM government for developments in infrastructure, healthcare, education and wealth-creation programmes.

Mitooma alone, he said, now boasts of 109 government primary schools and 16 government-aided secondary schools. However, even with these gains, he argues that deeper economic support is urgently needed.

Mwebesa criticises the coffee factory in Ntungamo, saying that although it was introduced as a boost for farmers, it does not purchase coffee from them as expected; instead, he accuses it of focusing mainly on training activities.

He urges for fertilisers to boost coffee yields, as well as access to quality veterinary drugs, claiming many products on the market are counterfeit. He adds that young people in the region need agricultural skilling hubs to help them secure employment.

“We want jobs because we have educated our children in good schools. We want the factory to buy our coffee at a very competitive market, not music shows and exhibitions,” the resident says.

Residents also raised concerns about the state of social services.

Promise Ainomugisha, another resident of Mitooma, said people in his area had gone over six months without clean water.

According to him, water supply was restored only when President Museveni visited the area for campaigns, which he interpreted as deliberate manipulation of services for political gain.

Electricity, he added, was equally unreliable, often going off for longer hours than when it's on.

“It cannot even stay on for six hours. It’s ever off, even now,” he said. He appealed to Nandala to ensure a reliable water and electricity supply should he come into power.

Speaking to supporters in Katerera and Bunyaruguru town councils in Rubirizi, Nandala Mafabi criticised what he described as the government’s longstanding neglect of crucial sectors, particularly agriculture.

As he moved through the region, Nandala received cheering crowds, even making a brief stop in Ishaka and Bushenyi to greet his supporters before continuing to Mitooma.

He condemned the failure to introduce harvest insurance, saying the idea should have been in place 40 years ago to protect farmers from unpredictable losses.

He also faulted the government for failing to complete the electric fence around Queen Elizabeth National Park, leaving communities exposed to wildlife attacks that destroy crops and endanger lives.

Nandala outlined an agricultural vision built on farmer protection, value addition and rural transformation.

He promised to introduce harvest insurance for farmers, support value addition for products to boost income, and strengthen rural infrastructure such as roads and social services.

He added that farmers would receive instant cash for produce and that his administration would prioritise completing the fencing of protected areas to prevent wild animal invasions.

Looking to economic revival, Nandala told crowds in Rubirizi and Mitooma that co-operatives once played a major role in uplifting farmers before they were deliberately weakened.

He cited the collapse of the Banyankore Kweterana Co-operative Union as a deliberate act that left communities poorer.

He pledged to restore strong cooperative systems across Uganda and revive the Cooperative Bank and Agricultural Bank to improve access to affordable credit.

He also promised to reinstate the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB), questioning how Uganda could close UCB while allowing Kenya Commercial Bank to operate freely.

Today, Friday, December 12, Nandala Mafabi is expected to take his campaign message to Rukungiri and Kanungu districts, continuing his push for support as the campaign season intensifies.