Vote your leaders wisely, Museveni urges Ugandans

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni who is also the Presidential Flag bearer for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party in the 2016 presidential election has urged Ugandans to vote carefully in the forthcoming election.

"Your leaders make it hard to plan for the country. Such leaders should be picked carefully. Sending someone without a plan to parliament is spoiling for yourself," he said.

Museveni was campaigning at a rally held at Kyamate Secondary School in Kyamate Ward in the Eastern Division of Ntungamo Municipality. He said that it is hard to corporate and work with leaders without plans.

"You know the men who want to bring us trouble. I want you to identify people that you can work with. These roads and electricity have been able to move to another level because we fought for this," he said.

The President also cautioned the people of Ntungamo against violence.

"Last time I heard that someone came with goons who beat up people who were wearing t-shirts of the ‘Old Man'. We have imprisoned them all. You heard of a Muhima who was thinking while eating, then a piece of millet fell in the milk and he said "You are lying. The way is one. I will reach you," he said.

He also cautioned Ugandans against sectarianism, saying its unity that can guarantee Uganda's prosperity.

"Before, Ugandans were divided along religious and tribal differences. Women and the disabled were being discriminated. The parliament of 1982 only had two women out of the 80 Members of Parliament (MPs). People were being killed. When we noticed all that, we realized that we were all going to die. We started mobilizing regardless of your tribe and religion. We even recruited women into the army. In Buganda some people used to look at height but we told them height had nothing to do with fighting because even the short people could shoot. When we reached a consensus we were then able to gain strength and that brought peace. This is the peace we are enjoying," he said.

On health, Museveni promised to upgrade the Ntungamo Municipality Heath Centre III to a Health Centre IV.

"A Health Centre III runs a general outpatient clinic and maternal ward with a laboratory while a Health Centre IV is a small hospital that has a theatre for carrying out emergency operations," he said.

He also promised to extend power to the villages surrounding Ntungamo Municipality and put up street lights along the roads to avoid accidents at night.

On wealth creation, Museveni said that the NRM manifesto for the 2012/2021 elections is mainly about wealth and household incomes. "When you have peace and development but are still poor, it does not help. That is why we are advising you on how to acquire wealth in this manifesto," he said.

He said that wealth is found in four sectors mainly; commercial agriculture, industrialization, services and Information Communication Technologies such as business process outsourcing. He advised against waiting for public service jobs saying that they are few and do not bring wealth.

He revealed that the wealth creation funds were started after realizing that people were not fighting poverty.

"When NRM realized that people were not working on wealth creation we set up different projects to support our people; NAADs, youth fund, women fund and microfinance fund. We are going to boost the budgets for these projects to support everyone," he said.

President Museveni urged the residents of Ntungamo to vote for him and the NRM flag bearers in the elections.

"Vote for the NRM because it is a party of peace and unity," he said. The NRM flag bearers include Davis Singahache (LC V), Yona Musinguzi (Ntungamo Municipality), Beatrice Rwakimari (Woman MP), Mwesigwa Rukutana (Rushenyi Constituency) and Micheal Timuzigu (Kajara Constituency).

The First Lady who is also Minister for Karamoja Affairs Janet Museveni who accompanied President Museveni for the rally thanked the residents of Ntungamo for their loyalty to the NRM party. "I want to thank you for the unity, solidarity with the Movement. Ntungamo is for the Movement," she said.

Over 300 defectors from both the Forum for Democratic Change and Go Forward to the NRM were received by candidate Museveni.