What did Basoga get from Rwakitura?

By John Semakula

Members of Parliament from Busoga last weekend left smiling after meeting President Yoweri Museveni, who offered to help their region regain its lost glory.

Several MPs, who attended the meeting at the President’s upcountry home in Rwakitura, Kiruhura district, described it as fruitful.

Paul Mwiru, the Jinja East Municipality MP, said considering what the group had discussed with the President, the people of Busoga might soon reap some fruits.

Asuman Kiyingi, the Bugabula South MP in Kamuli district said:

“We got a big package from the meeting, including the sh80m the President offered to facilitate the review of our Constitution.”

Led by the chairperson of the Busoga parliamentary caucus, Rebecca Kadaga, also the Speaker of Parliament, the MPs met the President and tabled a chain of burning issues from Busoga before the President.

President Museveni enjoys significant support in Busoga and in all the previous presidential and parliamentary elections, he has outstandingly trounced his opponents in the region.

Besides taking growth to Busoga, the results of the meeting might help the President consolidate his support in the region.

The MPs told their host that the issues they tabled were responsible for Busoga’s abject poverty. Mwiru said that for long, the Basoga wanted their support for the President to be reflected in the growth of the region.

Busoga was formerly the industrial hub of Uganda, teeming industries that provided employment, but this turned into history when the facilities collapsed, leaving the locals wallowing in poverty.

Issues tabled

Among the problems the MPs tabled was the absence of the Kyabazinga to unite and mobilise the Basoga to take part in development programmes.

The group argued that before the demise of Kyabazinga Henry Wako Muloki on September 1, 2008, the Basoga were united behind him. Due to the absence of the Kyabazinga, the MPs said, some unscrupulous people had started selling off the kingdom’s property.

Since the death of the Kyabazinga, divisions have engulfed the kingdom.

Attempts to install a successor have ended in bloody fights between the rivalling groups.

The President reportedly pledged to help the Basoga elect a new Kyabazinga. The group also vowed to block the sale of the kingdom’s property before a new Kyabazinga is installed.

“With the funds and help from the President, guidelines for electing the Kyabazinga will soon be set and the crisis resolved,” Kiyingi said.

Museveni’s pledges

Museveni, according to the MPs, also promised to improve infrastructure by upgrading a chain of roads in the region, including Musita-Namayingo road.

On the side of education, the President promised to construct two Universal Secondary Education schools in Jinja Municipality to boost access to education.

The President pledged to ensure that the Government rehabilitates the region’s main hospitals, such as Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and Bugiri Hospital, which are currently in a sorry state.

 Call for affirmative action

The MPs asked the President to consider Busoga region for affirmative action, as has been done in other regions, like in the Luwero Triangle and the north. But for the promises to yield results, the MPs concurred with the President that there was need to work towards changing the attitudes of the people of Busoga.

The MPs told the President that many Basoga had a negative attitude towards work, expecting the Government to put food on their tables.

Recently, Busoga region was struck by jiggers, which deformed some people, prompting the Government to send in reinforcement to combat the epidemic.

Critics blamed the jigger attack on laziness among the affected population.

 Warning against intrigue

As the meeting came to an end, the President cautioned the Busoga leaders against intrigue and siding with cliques in the NRM party, which would kill it.

Prior to the meeting with the President, several politicians from Busoga were fighting and accusing each other of political intrigue.

But if the rivalling groups adhere to the advice of the President and unite for a common goal, Busoga stands to shine and regain its lost glory.

Several projects, which the President and the MPs agreed on, had been excluded in the recently read national budget.

However, the MPs said the President promised that the programmes would be considered