Church woos OWC on development

The Church is often seen as a temple for the worship of the Almighty God.

However, Dr Stephen Kaziimba, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda (COU), is seeking to fight the devil, as well as poverty, which have bedevilled his flock.

The head of the Anglican Church in Uganda said the religious institutions, including COU, is the third biggest landlord after the Government and agricultural institutions, but most of the land remains undeveloped.

He also said most of the believers were engaged in low production, with low yields. Kaziimba said they need capital and energy to unlock the potential of the COU and believers across the country.

MINDSET CHANGE

"We are in ministry to cater not only for spiritual needs, but also to change the mindset of the population and to encourage them to work," he said, adding that his gospel is about the head (the mind), the heart (emotional nourishment) and the hands. "We are here to sensitise the population to change the mindset." "We have land, but no capital to contribute to production. 

As COU, we have come to partner with Operation Wealth Creation (OWC). We have trustworthy people, who can deliver services in this era of corruption and capital, including machinery and seedlings," Kaziimba said.

The prelate also pointed out that excessive love for money is bad, but lack of it is also a source of evil. Kaziimba was speaking yesterday after a meeting between the House of Bishops and Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho aka Salim Saleh at Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute in Kampala. 

The institute was recently renamed National Agricultural Research Laboratories — NARL Kawanda.

FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Saleh, who is also the chief coordinator of OWC, delivered a lecture about his past in military service and also the efforts of the Government in transforming Uganda's economy by harnessing the country's natural and human resources.

He said the proposals by the House of Bishops were in line with the new five-year National Development Plan.

He said the proposal, including funding COU with sh60b per year, is before the finance ministry.

Saleh also said the Government has cheap credit and support under different institutions, including Uganda Development Bank, which COU should access.

He said the Government and the Ministry of Trade and Industry would support the communities to construct maize mills in different parts of the country.

Saleh said it is time to revive co-operatives since they are the missing link between the Government and the people.

He said co-operatives made mistakes, but they should be corrected in order to deliver better service to the people.

OWC has been working with different sectors of the Government, including the agricultural sector for the last seven years, Saleh said.

"We are grateful for this interaction with Saleh and the government team that he has come to us with," the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda said in response to Gen. Saleh's presentation.

He said the first creation of God was light, but most Ugandans do not have access to electricity, which provides light and powers industrialisation. This, according to Kaziimba is part of what they want the Government to provide, particularly in the rural areas, to transform the economy and improve livelihoods.

CONTAMINATION

Kaziimba said the lack of storage facilities and limited means to add value to agricultural products were leading to losses and low productivity in the agricultural sector. He said the agricultural products in Uganda suffer contamination with aflatoxins, which also undermines income and health.

The function was attended by Chief of Defence Forces Gen, David Muhoozi, Dr Kisamba Mugerwa of the Micro Finance Support Centre, as well as permanent secretaries of various ministries, including Alfred Okidi of water and environment, Pius Wakabi of agriculture and Robert Kasande.

The Ministry of Local Government and that of trade and industry were also represented.