By Robert Atuhaire
On May 9, 2019 President Yoweri Museveni launched a countrywide “wealth creation” tour that would take him to all regions of the country, down to the sub-regions, districts, sub counties and particular cells. It was unlike any other drive as it had been preceded by sustained talk of building household incomes and appointment of a “wealth ambassadors” managed under his office as the National Chairman of the NRM party based in Kyambogo.
The “ambassadors” totaling 8,000 and selected at regional, sub-regional, district, sub county and village level were selected to supplement existing efforts in the fight against poverty and generally raising awareness on Government programmes.
“What an energetic campaign it has been so far! President Museveni launched a nationwide drive to spur a serious conversation with leaders and the masses on the question of creating wealth and kicking out household poverty,” Mr. Don Wanyama, the Senior Press Secretary to the President said of the tour.
Museveni is known as a man of his word and conviction when he is onto something he must accomplish. He will try to win over everyone and make sure his message is heard and understood.
The inaugural engagement was in Tooro sub-region, where he began by meeting the political and technical leaders from sub-counties upwards in Fort Portal town, then addressed wananchi in Kyenjojo before speaking to the entire sub-region through a radio address. That is the standard format the President is using and here is why. The leaders are the pace-setters, it is important that they appreciate a message first because they are critical in ensuring there is buy-in from those they lead.
Key message
The rallies then help take the message to the wider public, the wananchi, while the radio helps speak to those that might not have made it to the rallies. It is a well-thought out strategy to ensure no one misses the message. And the message was that it is possible for every Ugandan household to make it out of poverty. There are four key sectors in which wealth can be created; commercial agriculture, industries, services and ICT.
On both occasions of the State Of The Nation Address and Budget speeches (June 6 and 13, respectively), Museveni was emphatic on the importance of leaders being involved in the wealth creation programmes for their people as opposed to mere politics. He said it was the call for all leaders, not necessarily those in NRM, to work for prosperity and wondered how Opposition spends time trying to fail Government programmes. The two addresses were among the most lighthearted in recent times as the President exuded optimism and cast an amicable aura of cooperation among the contending sides in politics to shelve their differences when it comes to development and livelihood issues.
At the rallies, Museveni goes at length to explain what opportunities each sector presents, but understandably, he dwells more on the subject of commercial agriculture.
This is because the bulk of Ugandans who are out of the money economy, 68 per cent (according to the World Bank and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics), are trapped in subsistence agriculture. They simply till the earth to feed themselves but not make money.
It is this anathema that the President is now urging the population to break. And like they say, information is power. The President is making known to the population that the government, with its constrained resources, has largely played its part.
To the leaders, like the President pointed out in Fort Portal, a population in poverty is a ticking bomb. “Having a big poor population is dangerous for you as a leader, for the family and for Uganda and could result into a national crisis,” he warned.
Meticulously, the President has guided on what exact agricultural activities households in different sub-regions can engage in given the quantity of land they possess.
The ideal though is the four-acre model, split into an orchard, a poultry/piggery undertaking, a dairy project plus pasture and some food crops too.
In places like West Nile, the President has been candid to indicate tobacco should be cultivated by those with large chunks of land. In Bunyoro, he’s warned about citizens getting lost in the oil dream while in Tooro, he has pointed out how farming can be boosted by tourism.
The wealth creation gospel is resonating with the population if the reaction of the audiences is anything to go by. In Fort Portal, Stella Kemigabo Akiiki, a youth leader, was unequivocal in her praise of the President.
“I was in the leaders’ meeting, attended the rally and listened to him on radio. His message is very clear. It is our challenge now as leaders at the local level to guide our people. The president has done his part. He has struck the right note,” she said.
Project-centred SACCOs
From Tooro, Museveni headed to oil-rich Bunyoro sub-region. On May 16, 2019, Museveni was in Masindi in Bunyoro sub-region where he addressed a public rally at Kyatiri Primary School grounds in Pakanyi sub-county, Buruli County. There he revealed that government was considering introducing project-centered SACCOs to support grass-root initiatives aimed at creating jobs and improving incomes for the rural poor.
“We have experimented this in Kassanda and realised that if we encouraged wananchi to join SACCOs that promote their interests, it would be easier for government to channel money in those respective SACCOs for easy access for them to boost their projects,” he said.
He said they have identified 13 projects including boda boda groups, women entrepreneurs, carpentry, saloons, taxi operators, restaurants, welders, market vendors, youth leaders, people with disabilities, produce dealers, mechanics and tailors. He said the proposal has already been introduced to Cabinet.
At the venue, the President heard first hand testimonies by youth trainees from St Kizito Vocational and Friendship Centre who gave testimonies and revelations at a public rally that they can make money after being trained on skilling, meaning that all they needed was to be mobilised, sensitised, encouraged and supported to succeed.
While in Bunyoro, Museveni discouraged people, especially the youths, against being corrupted by prospects in oil to abandon engagements in job and wealth activities. He instead encouraged them to take advantage of the prospected oil to fill the existing gaps.
On June 5, Museveni was at Elgon view grounds in Tororo Municipality in Bukedi sub-region which comprises the districts of Busia, Budaka, Butaleja, Butebo, Kibuku, Pallisa, and Tororo.
Don’t only produce for consumption
He called on the leaders of Bukedi to sensitise the wananchi in the region on dangers of producing only for consumption.
“Leaders should help people come out of this dangerous situation. People learn by listening. That’s why I am here to share with you what I know. At least God will not ask me why I didn’t tell you,” he said.
Additional to speeches, Museveni distributed his books that summarise his struggle against poor and traditional agriculture, especially within the people of the Ankole sub-region to further assist leaders to internalise the message of wealth and job creation and transmit it to the wananchi.
In Busoga sub-region, an enclave of immense opportunity but where poverty levels challenge the leadership, Museveni had a special message for farmers tailored to agricultural trends whereby sugarcane growing has become a dominant activity but with little productivity and benefit for the smallholder farmer. He warned farmers of a looming drop in the sugarcane prices which will consequently affect farmers’ profits.
“If you are to earn a lot from sugarcane growing, one should have farmland of six acres or more. Just having one or two acres of land isn’t sufficient and such farmers should do other things instead of sugarcane growing,” he advised.
He observed that growing sugarcane on an acre will cost a farmer almost one million Shillings in farm inputs while generating about two million Shillings after 18 months which isn’t financially viable at all. He said this at a press conference at the State Lodge in Jinja District.
He added: “It is, therefore, reasonable enough that those with one or two acres engage in small land consuming projects like poultry, and leave large scale farmers to engage in growing cane with all its’ risks because they can easily maximize profits.”
According to Ms. Alice Nalumu, a coordinator of the Office of the National Chairman based in Kamuli, Museveni’s message resonated very well with the people.
“I can assure you the ground here is firm and people are ready to work for prosperity. He told them everybody should have something for themselves in their own pocket and then together they could develop as a community. The people are so happy with the message,” Nalumu said. She said that as a promoter of Museveni’s message, she is another example to others but she must have what to eat in her backyard and extra for the market.
Mockery of leadership
On Friday June 14, Museveni was in Teso sub-region and met leaders at Soroti University grounds. In the same week, he had been to Karamoja where he described leaders whose areas still depend on subsistence farming as a mockery of leadership.
“To have subsistence farmers in your area continuously and you call yourself a leader, you are a mockery of leadership. Political parties are a means to an end; they cannot be an end in themselves,” said Museveni.
Next stop was the expansive Buganda sub-region with its strategic location and land challenges followed by Ankole sub-region where he did a recap of the transformation seeds he planted back in the 1960s that gave indigenous people a launch into the money economy.
On Tuesday, July 30, the head of state entered Kigezi sub-region where he had been long-awaited, and on Wednesday headed for Kisoro with the last stop of his tours to be in Rwenzori sub-region. The message has been consistent and consolidated to suit every Ugandan interested in kicking poverty out of their lives. He also launched major infrastructure developments under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme in several municipalities.
In appreciation of Museveni’s exemplariness and steadfastness in the fight against poverty, the people urged him to stay on. They endorsed him as sole candidate for the NRM party in 2021.
An example was in Bukedi where the NRM’s Chairperson for Eastern Region, Capt. Michael Mukula, highly appreciated President Museveni’s efforts in fighting poverty in the country. The leaders then moved a resolution “Bukedi Resolution 2019”read by Tororo Municipality MP, Mr. Ofwono Apollo Yeferi. The leaders also pledged their support to spread the gospel of the wealth creation to their masses.
Most successful tour in recent times
The tour is touted as the most successful one in recent times expected to bear fruit and consolidate Museveni’s leadership credentials. The conduct and reaction of the Opposition says a lot. While the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) was condemning the tours as a political scheme, majority MPs in Parliament agreed that the tours were beneficial and approved a supplementary budget of Shs7billlion to fund them.
A section of MPs defended the tours saying that “they are meant to sensitise masses about wealth creation and during these meetings, members come out and endorse him as a sole candidate and the President has no control over such requests.”
FDC began its own sensitisation drive to counter Museveni by meeting its leaders but it was low key and with no noticeable outcome. Dr. Kizza Besigye decided to hold an address at his home in Kasangati to try and water down the impact of the tours but was still overshadowed by the weight of the greater interests of the ordinary Ugandan, which is getting out of poverty.
The new pseudo-political party, “People power” did not want to be left out. Led by Kyaddondo East MP, Mr. Robert Kyagulanyi, they patched up a loose line-up of coordinators to promote the group but everything about it shows that it was intended to mimic the “wealth ambassadors” network under ONC and supervised by Museveni himself as the National Chairman of NRM.
Even the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) launched a reactionary activity starting on July 24 to cover West Nile, Teso region and Lira, under cover of reconciling its membership. To the Opposition, Museveni’s message resonated well with the people and could only spell a stiff challenge heading to 2021.
With Uganda being a very peaceful and stable country, with infrastructure to link farmers to markets in place, and government doing its part by creating a favourable environment and going the extra mile to offer inputs through interventions like Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), the question remains what the individual is doing for himself. Museveni has received tremendous receptions with Ugandans willing to change their situation.
The start of the tours coincided with the 2016 Manifesto Week whose theme is: “Taking Uganda to Modernity through Job Creation and Inclusive Development”.
The Public Lens will soon conduct spot-checks in various constituencies to establish how legislators present during the addresses and the rallies have embraced the message and put it into action- Editor
