Museveni kicks-off campaign trail in Bugisu, highlights key NRM achievements

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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, also the Presidential flag bearer for the National Resistance Movement (NRM), today began his campaign trail in the Bugisu sub-region, starting with a grand rally in Sironko District.

Before crossing to Bugisu, he concluded his campaign trail in the Teso sub-region, ending with Bukedea district.

The campaign is running under the theme: “Protecting the Gains, As We Make Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status”.

Addressing thousands of supporters, President Museveni thanked the people of Sironko for their continued backing of the NRM and urged them to support all party flag bearers.

President Museveni arrives for the campaign rally amidst a cheering crowd of NRM supporters. (PPU)

President Museveni accompanied by the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, as he was welomed by district officials for the campaign rally. (PPU)

NRM supporters at the campaign rally. (PPU)

“Peace was not easy to achieve. The NRM worked tirelessly for many years, guided by our ideology and a commitment to avoid sectarianism. All the development you see in Sironko today has been brought by the NRM,” President Museveni said.

He highlighted key infrastructure projects completed under the NRM government, including roads linking Mbale to Kapchorwa and Karamoja, as well as the Bumbobi-Lwakhakha road.

President Museveni also announced plans to work on the Namagumba–Budadiri–Nalugugu road.

On water access, President Museveni reported that out of 1,543 rural villages in Sironko, 1,374 (89%) now have safe water. A total of 24 additional piped water supply and sanitation systems are operational across the district.

These include; Mutufu Town Board WSS (6,694 residents), Buteza WSS (5,400 residents), Pato WSS (4,680 residents), Buwalasi GFS (13,683 residents), Buginyanya WSS (16,330 residents), among others.

Plans are underway to expand coverage to the remaining 169 villages without access to safe water and to construct the flagship Nasumati Piped Water Supply and Sanitation System.

On Education, President Museveni said that Sironko District has 224 parishes, of which 98 have at least one government primary school, while 126 still lack schools.

There are currently 111 government primary schools serving 98,962 pupils, and 12 government secondary schools with 10,660 students.

The President pledged that each parish will eventually have a government primary school, and every sub-county will host a secondary school, noting that plans are also underway to construct three new secondary seed schools through the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project (USEEP).

On health, President Museveni noted that in Sironko’s 42 sub-counties, 2 have Health Centre IV facilities, 18 have Health Centre III facilities, while 22 sub-counties currently lack health facilities of HCIII or above.

The government plans to upgrade several HCII facilities to HCIII, including Bubbeza, Buyaya, Kyesha, Bugusege, and Nampanga. Additional HCIIIs are planned for Buhungu, Bukyabo, Bumalimba, and other sub-counties, alongside measures to eradicate malaria, improve immunisation coverage, and equip health units with necessary diagnostic tools.

President Museveni highlighted government initiatives that have boosted agricultural productivity, particularly in coffee, bananas, and milk.

He emphasised that the NRM, through initiatives such as research and development at Kawanda Agricultural Research Centre, has modernised coffee production in Uganda, improving quality and productivity.

As a result, coffee prices have risen, influenced by the global market forces, countering claims that the achievements were brought by certain individuals.

Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga:

Under the PDM, Sironko’s 224 parishes have received a cumulative sh68.99 billion, with 98.63% disbursed to 66,809 households. The district also has 36 Emyooga SACCOs with 18,821 members, who have received Shs. 1.54 billion in support.

The President pledged continued investment in education, healthcare, water, roads, and agricultural development.

He also emphasised skills development through the Presidential Industrial Hubs, noting that the Bugisu region hub in Mbale has already trained 1,167 youth in trades such as welding, carpentry, tailoring, hairdressing, and bakery.

The President also handed over the NRM flags to aspiring Members of Parliament, LC V chairperson, councillors, and other party candidates in Sironko District, formally endorsing their participation in the upcoming elections.

NRM leaders, including Eastern Region Vice Chairman Hon. Calvin Echodu and Sironko District NRM Chairperson Mr Lumolo Mafabi, welcomed the President, highlighting the party’s successes in the 2021 elections and the need to upgrade the district hospital.

The event was attended by NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) members, Members of Parliament, religious and cultural leaders, as well as thousands of supporters.