Museveni Warns On Election Violence

By Vision Reporter PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has warned Ugandans who are resorting to violence and intimidation in the presidential election campaigns. "My supporters should not cause trouble. In the case of Rukungiri, Besigye's supporters were causing trouble, threatening. But if my people are doing that, they should stop it because nobody is allowed under the Elections Act, the Penal Code," he told The New Vision at State House, Nakasero, yesterday. "It is an offence to threaten violence, obstruct traffic. I talked to the Police in Rukungiri that they must pull up their socks. It's their work, not mine, to maintain law and order." He said whoever felt intimidated should report to the Police, who must act. Museveni said last week's death of Congo President Laurent Kabila does not affect Uganda because the country's twin aims of sending troops across the border had been already fulfilled. The ADF, which has lost a number of commanders, had been defeated, and Sudan could no longer use bases in Congo. The only problems remaining is the Interahamwe, the Congo itself, the Burundi Hutus and the Angola question, he said. "We would like to make a contribution to this but we need a consensus. We cannot go on being maligned that we are looking for gold and then we stay there. If the world doesn't understand us, then we pull out because our aims have been met." He said candidates who are promising to abolish graduated tax were seeking cheap popularity because this would wreck the economy. Local councils rely on locally collected taxes, which amount to shs 55b a year. "What is wrong would be for local councils to over-assess citizens. Only sh1,500b of the central government's annual budget of sh2,400b is raised locally. The rest comes from donor loans and grants, raised from taxing their own people. They'll think we are idiots." Museveni said if he does not win the presidential election, there would be no Movement. "The Besigyes, Chapaas, Aworis do not want it. The Movement has united Baganda, Karimojong, Catholics, westerners. Nowhere in history has anyone won 75% (his winning margin in 1996) of Ugandan support. "The Movement has done bad things for opportunists - Winnie (Byanyima) is trying to pull Catholics out of the Movement. Others are trying to take the Muslims and the Baganda. We would just go back to 1962. But don't worry, Museveni will not lose." He said he would prioritise small scale agriculture if he is re-elected. Buganda, which is relying less on migrant labour, would need machinery that can be supplied by private companies. Teso, where cows plough, need guidance to diversify. As the country marks 15 years of NRM, he recounted his government's achievements as repairing old roads and tarmacking 800km of new ones; increasing electricity output; improving infant health; overthrowing dictatorship; empowering people through LCs, Parliament, women and youth movements; provision of safe water; parish/sub-county level health network; free primary school education; rebuilding the army and raising tax revenue. Ends