Bugisu voters table their wish list to govt

The Bamasaba community living in the Elgon sub-region has come up with key strategic priority areas that they demand the government to urgently address in the next five years under the principle of fairness and equal distribution of resources.

The first ever Bamasaba joint strategic planning meeting attended by influential sons and daughters positioned in various positions of leadership was held at the Mbale Resort Hotel on Saturday. The meeting outlined all the challenges the region has been facing and forged a way forward, aimed at advocating the betterment of the entire Bamasaba community.

Initiated and chaired by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Mary Goretti Kitutu, and assisted by the state minister for housing Michael Werikhe, delegates resolved to bury all their political and petty differences and unite as one formidable force using their numbers to mobilise support for President Yoweri Museveni and all the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party flag-bearers vying for various positions so as to achieve their intended targets.

Kitutu said the main purpose of the get-together was to brainstorm on how best the region can benefit from government programmes, like other regions, for the benefit of the common person and bury aside personal ego among the leaders that she said had greatly affected the development of the region.

She added that it was also aimed at collecting various views of how best Mbale City can be planned for strategic development.

Bugisu region consists of the six districts of Mbale, Manafwa, Namisindwa, Bududa, Sironko and Bulambuli, in addition to Mbale City.

In a memorandum of understanding that was presented by Davis Mwenyi, the assistant commissioner policy in the Office of the President, the members outlined their demands for consideration in the next government.

The demands include establishment of Bugisu affairs ministry, tarmacking of 300 kilometres of road network, establishment of a tomato and banana industry, under the presidential initiative of bananas, besides storage facilities for cereals, extending financial support to Bugisu cooperative union, continued rural electrification programmes and exploitation of the vast mineral deposits.

Others include establishment of hospitals for the whole district, beginning with upgrading of Bugobero and Budadiri health centres IV to serve Manafwa and Namisindwa, then Sironko and Bulambuli district, respectively. They said only Bududa has a district hospital while Mbale hosts the regional hospital.

They also resolved that the gravity flow water be managed locally by Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCOS), establishment of Mount Elgon University and support the documentation of the Lumasaba dictionary, establishment of a regional disaster management centre with clear resettlement plans, construction of the Umukuka we Masaba cultural centre at Mutoto village and development of various tourism sites, besides opening of the Mount Elgon park.

During the deliberations, delegates also noted that the continued political bickering among the community members and backstabbing each other was not only undermining the region's development, but also promoting hatred and unnecessary conflict.

Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire said the region deserves to have representation that is diverse in government, in order to get a rich opinion. She said it is unfair to note that the Bamasaba are not well positioned in higher positions in government, despite having very resourceful people placed in various departments.

Bamugemereire challenged the Bamasaba to desist from the negative attitude of bringing others down and, instead, work as a uniform force to push for their society needs.

"Let us exercise the joint work spirit and desist from squeezing others as if there is no room at the top. You can still get to your destiny without necessarily killing each other," she said.

Sr Rose Lerima of Mbale School of the Deaf blamed the conflict in the region on political leaders who caused great division by blackmailing others.

"We have bewitched and cursed ourselves by continuously backstabbing others. We tend to pretend a lot and yet there is no teamwork among the political leaders in the area," she said.

Connie Galiwango, the Mbale District Woman MP, observed that the meeting will help to heal the wounds inflicted among some of the leaders by those who feel that they are more attached to government than the others.

John Musila, the Manafwa district chairperson and also the chairperson of all independent candidates in the region, cautioned that the NRM party should not undermine their mobilisation capacity in the forthcoming elections.