Mao promises to revive Busoga's glory

The Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate, Norbert Mao, has promised to set up factories in all districts across the country to provide jobs to the youth if he is elected president next year.

Mao made the pledge while addressing rallies in Magamaga, Musita and Mayuge town councils in Mayuge district, Namungalwe in Iganga and Kaliro town council in Kaliro district on Tuesday.

Mao said the youth are forced to engage in acts such as election violence and alcoholism because the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has failed to come up with projects that would make them busy and improve their incomes.

"There is no way the youth can engage in riots when they have an activity that can make them busy," he said.

He promised to set up a co-operative society that can unite sugarcane farmers and enable them to access funding from the Government. He said this would also enable them lobby for better prices for their produce instead of being exploited by factory owners.

"The problem with sugarcane farmers is that they are not organised; therefore, they cannot lobby for higher sugarcane prices," he said.

Mao said sugarcane growing is not as bad as presumed by the Government, but the challenge now is to jointly lobby for higher prices through cooperative societies.

He said this time around, politics is not about promises of improving the healthcare system and infrastructure, but removing President Yoweri Museveni from power.

"People are tired of promises and now want to see a smooth regime change," he said.

Mao promised to revive the glory of Jinja city to become one of the industrial cities in East Africa and create jobs for graduates in Busoga.

He also promised to set up public universities in all sub regions to enable students access education near their home areas instead of moving long distances to places such as Kampala.

Mao said the target of setting up a public university in all sub-regions was to ensure that each household countrywide gets a university graduate after every 20 years.

"We all know the role education plays in the development of the country.

Education plays a big role in the upward mobility of a home and as DP, we put much emphasis on it," he said.

Mao said the DP was advocating a peaceful change of government to avoid bloodshed because people are disappointed in the NRM's failure to deliver on its promises for the 34 years it has been in power.

Mao visited the wife of the late John Bosco Isabirye, one of the DP founder members at Baitabogwe village, Wairasa sub-county, before proceeding for the main rally at Mayuge town council playgrounds.

Jane Kagoya, one of the DP supporters in Namungalwe, asked Mao whether the party had deployed enough polling agents to curb election fraud.

Mao said they had the capacity to ensure the process was free and fair. Vivian Kauma, the DP candidate for Mayuge district Woman MP seat, said the district was behind in terms of development because voters made the mistake of electing weak leaders who cannot lobby for projects.

Unlike other opposition presidential candidates, this time around the Police never bothered to deploy at all the rallies in the three districts.

The Iganga district Police commander, Kenneth Muheirwe, said he saw no need to deploy since there were no threats of violence.

"We agreed with the candidate's campaign team about the venues of their rallies and there was no need for alarm," he said.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Mao launched DP's five-pillar agenda for the 2021 general election, which is aimed at creating reconciliation, peace and harmony in the country.

While launching the manifesto at Kakindu Stadium in Jinja city on Monday, Mao said Uganda is deeply wounded and now is the right opportunity to promote reconciliation.

The five pillars include shared prosperity, ending corruption, new era of conscience, providing servant leadership and also promoting peace through accepting mistakes.

Mao said the five pillars will move hand in hand with the 21 dreams of 45 million people, including a new constitution, saying the current one has many loopholes. The others are reduction of cabinet positions and administrative units which have failed development and creation of a budget for religious leaders to also benefit from government funding.

He promised to write to President Yoweri Museveni over the mistreatment and killing of innocent people by the security personnel.

Legal help

Nalukola Luyimbazi, the national legal adviser of DP, pledged to give legal support to one of the youth who was shot at by the Police during the recent riots in Kampala. He has since undergone surgery at Mulago Hospital.

Nalukola, who referred to Mao as having organic leadership abilities, said he will face challenges like those of Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.