President Museveni has showered praises on City businessman Hamis Kiggundu also known as Ham, for the good work of giving hitherto rotten Nakivubo Stadium a new state-of-the-art facelift.
The head of state made the remarks as he commissioned the multi-purpose stadium developed by Ham.
“First of all, Kiggundu is a young man who was born I think when the NRM had come to power, but he is a real NRM by being innovative and knowing that you can get prosperity in Uganda. This is what we have been telling you,” The President noted.
Museveni said Kiggundu has been able to make things happen and develop his country because he believes in the philosophy of “yes we can”.
“I thank Kiggundu because he has been able to show that attitude not only in this project but even in other projects. When he came up with this idea, in my bushwar ways of doing things, I quickly understood him because we bushwar fighters don’t take long to understand things. If you take a long time to make a decision you die,” he said.
Museveni went down the memory lane detailing how the young tycoon approached him with this brilliant idea of renovating the stadium which culminated into a deal where the stadium was leased to him for 49 years.
“He had a clear idea. There’s a government asset called Nakivubo, you lease it to me, I develop it using private money and then cover my costs through the collections and also other businesses I will do around there for 49 years. So, this was clear, what is the problem? I told people to support this man, if he doesn’t perform we throw him out, if he performs, he will recover his money because what we want is not a government stadium or a Church stadium; it is not important, what we want is a stadium in Uganda irrespective of who runs it and by the end of the day we all gain from it businesswise.” Museveni explained.
President Museveni also noted that the government needs investors such as Kiggundu to help it develop some assets that steer development of the country.
“If we get the private sector who can do this type of thing as guided by the government and according to the standards of the government then there’s really no problem. I have seen the facilities; I have been assured that they meet the standards of AFCON and other international groups so I’m very happy” he said.
Amid cheers, Jjajja Museveni wore a beaming face and even tested his footie skills as he commissioned the sports infrastructure.
He noted that with the completion of Nakivubo, the country now has Namboole stadium (which is government owned) clarifying that though Nakivubo is also government, it is now leased to Kiggundu for 49 years.
He said on top of these two, government is going to build two other stadia one in Hoima and another possibly Akii-Bua in Lira.
“In future we shall also have one zonal stadium in each zone.” Museveni revealed.
Meanwhile, Kiggundu thanked the President for his support towards the success of this project.
He commended the NRM government under the stewardship of President Museveni for ushering in peace to Uganda that has enabled development programs to be accomplished.
The businessman also urged other Ugandans to emulate him in order to develop the country.
“I take it as an obligation as a Ugandan that it is my responsibility to develop myself and my country and do it collectively. This is a direct reflection of your effort and struggle. The prevailing circumstances created by the current NRM regime is the main reason as to why an ordinary man like me can do such a project. I pray that other Ugandans can follow suit,” he said.
The function was attended by ports Ministers Peter Ogwang, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, the Executive Director for KCCA, Dorothy Kisaka, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education and Sports, Ms. Ketty Lamaro, the Mayor of Kampala Central Division, Salim Uhuru among others.
