UGANDA: ‘POLITICS OF PATRONAGE’ MISDIRECT ACHOLI YOUTHS FROM PRODUCTIVITY, DRAINS ECONOMY

Mr

Mr. Museveni, acknowledging cheers from his NRM loyalists during a function.

“Youths, let us hope for other options for survival instead of disgracing our culture in the name of looking for support from State House which you know is not coming. State House supports have line and bars, not for everyone and not for every region. If it was a real, do you think that Latek (Omoro district NRM chairman) will be struggling to look for what to put on table for his family? Wake up and start on your own. You can’t depend on State House support which will never come. Go to the village for one year, cultivate and start from there”

“The media has not informed the public that Mr. Museveni’s budget for donations has jumped from UGX.80 billion (about US$. 22 million) last year, to UGX. 200 billion (about US$ 56 million) in next year’s budget.  Mulago hospital budget is UGX. 71 billion (about US$19.72 million)”,

“Mr. Museveni’s ostentatious expenditure should receive the same amount of publicity as that of MPs. In fact between Mr. Museveni and MPs, our money can be redirected to better use. Maybe the country has given up on Mr. Museveni. The MPs and parliament are legitimate targets over budget but let us not use them to let the man himself to escape”

GULU-UGANDA:On October 01, 2019, a group of 51 youths from Acholi which calls itself; “Acholi NRM concerned youth” stormed State House in Nakasero, Kampala uninvited wanting to meet the President in his capacity as National Resistance Movement (NRM) party chairman.

This year Museveni toured the whole country in his campaign of teaching small holder peasant farmers on how to create wealth for their families using the small piece of land they have.

When he planned to camp in Gulu mid this year, the same group hoisted a large yellow banner (NRM color) near the district council hall in a strategic location, this time calling itself as “NRM sole candidate mobilization team 2021”

“Acholi welcomes His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to the region and endorse him as NRM sole candidate in 2021 Presidential Election”, reads the banner, which has been in the same place since it was hoisted more than four months ago.

The group chairman, Mr. Stephen Odokorach and Secretary General, Mr. Peter Okello-Oneka were invited to appear on ‘air’ on Mega FM for a radio talk show on Saturday, October 5, 2019 to explain why they stormed Sate House in the name of Acholi, which to many commentators on social media was an embarrassment to the people of Acholi.

“Youths, let us hope for other options for survival instead of disgracing our culture in the name of looking for support from State House which you know is not coming. State House support has lines and bars, not for everyone and not for every region. If it was a real, do you think that Mr. Latek (Omoro district NRM chairman) will be struggling to look for what to put on table for his family? Wake up and start on your own. You can’t depend on State House support which will never come. Go to the village for one year, cultivate and start from there”, says a social media commentator.

A member of the NRM’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), who prefers anonymity, says the NRM have no systems of operations where structures and organs of the party are never respected even by the chairman himself. He reveals that many NRM supporters struggle to go to State House because Mr. Yoweri Museveni encourages such pilgrimages by dishing out handouts to those who visit him.

“What else could they have done? They had no option. NRM does not respect structures and organs. Remember these youths are unemployed because the elders have refused to leave way of employment to youths. By opting to go to State House as a last resort, they might get something from the Fountain of Honor”, he says.

On May 15, 2019, Kiira Municipality Member of Parliament, Mr.Ssemijju Ibrahim Nganda, wrote an article in the Weekly Observer newspaper in which he gave an highlight on general Yoweri Museveni’s unquenchable thirst from money from donor community for financing his lavish lifestyle like give out handouts to his loyalists to buy support.

“The media has not informed the public that Mr. Museveni’s budget for donations has jumped from UGX. 80 billion (about US$. 22 million) last year, to UGX. 200 billion (about US$ 56 million), in next year’s budget.  Mulago hospital budget is UGX. 71 billion (about US$19.72 million)”, writes the MP.

He says State House budget has grown from UGX.274 billion (about US$ 76.1 million) in 2018 to UGX.407 billion (about US$ 113.1 million) in 2019 yet Uganda Heart Institute needs only UGX.256 billion (about US$ 71.1 million) to build and equip itself.

As if that is not bad enough, Mr. Museveni has allocated UGX. 68 billion (about US$ 18.9 million) as ‘classified expenditure’ under State House yet under the ministry of Defense, ‘classified expenditure’ is budgeted at UGX.600 billion (about US$ 167 million).

“Mr. Museveni’s ostentatious expenditure should receive the same amount of publicity as that of MPs. In fact between Mr. Museveni and MPs, our money can be redirected to better use. Maybe the country has given up on Mr. Museveni. The MPs and parliament are legitimate targets over budget but let us not use them to let the man himself to escape” concludes the legislator.

 

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