SAYS A STABLE UGANDA IS GOOD FOR EVERYONE
President Museveni has commended Muslims for their positive contribution to the peace, unity and development of Uganda.
He says a peaceful and stable Uganda is good for everyone, regardless of tribe, religion, gender and or other aspects.
Museveni says since 1986, the NRM government has demonstrated a willingness to work with everybody, as long as they respect and champion the legitimate interests of the people of Uganda and Africa.
“The legitimate interests of the people are well known. They include: jobs, electricity, schools, hospitals, roads, peace, security of persons and property, markets for their farm produce and industrial products etc. These interests are common to all Ugandans” he said in a speech read for him by the Vice President Maj. Jessica Alupo at the 2nd Annual Ramadan Convention organised by Ateker Muslim Development Foundation (AMDEF) under the theme ‘Resource Mobilization for Socioeconomic Transformation of Society’.
The function was held in Soroti and brought together Muslim leaders from Teso and Karamoja subregions.
The president said the NRM’s focus has been on creating an enabling environment where Ugandans can be able to pursue and attain their legitimate interests.
He therefore, commended the Muslim fraternity for supporting what he called the patriotic and Pan-African agenda of the NRM government, which he said aims at unifying the people of Uganda and Africa.
“I am happy to note the enthusiasm and determination of the Muslim Leaders in championing the fight against poverty and backwardness in their respective communities” he said.
Museveni likened society to a living organism which he said must undergo different forms of life to attain full maturity and productivity. He used the term metamorphosis which applies to the life cycle of an insect before it turns into an adult battery to describe the different stages of society.
“For instance, an insect moves from an egg to a caterpillar, pupa and finally a mature butterfly. The problem of Uganda and other African societies is that they remained stagnant; they failed to achieve social metamorphosis from a subsistence-based peasant society to a skilled middle class one, such as those we find in Europe and the United States of America” he noted.
The president through Alupo who is also Katakwi district woman MP commended the Muslim leadership for implementing social uplift programmes that are geared towards integrating the 39% of the households still involved in subsistence farming into the money economy.
He said Moneylessness can be eliminated by undertaking a profitable enterprise in any of the four critical sectors including commercial agriculture, industries, services and ICT. Museveni said these four sectors are where one can create jobs and wealth.
The president said whereas NRM has put in place the necessary infrastructure to spur Uganda’s development and transformation such as tarmacked roads from border to border, enough electricity supply, an ICT backbone among others, this is not enough; in order achieve total transformation of society.
He said these infrastructure developments must be translated into jobs and wealth for the households.
“I therefore, urge Muslim Leaders, who enjoy close proximity with our people, to continue mobilizing communities to utilize the numerous advantages Uganda enjoys to create wealth for the homes and jobs for the young people. We should not tolerate bystanders or spectators in the drive towards increasing the household incomes and creation of jobs” he said.
