While addressing the leaders, Museveni commended the Karamojong for accepting to surrender their guns and embrace peace that is now attracting more development and social-economic transformation.
President Yoweri Museveni has concluded his
performance assessment tour on the Parish Development Model (PDM) with a call
on the people to embrace the wealth creation program.
The President commenced his tours on Tuesday with a visit to model farmers in Nakapiripirit, Amudat, and Abim
respectively.
On Wednesday he addressed leaders from across the Karamoja
sub-region in the Moroto district and concluded on Thursday with a public rally
in Kotido.
While addressing the leaders, Museveni commended the
Karamojong for accepting to surrender their guns and embrace peace that is now attracting
more development and social-economic transformation.
Museveni stressed the need for substantial production of
products such as poultry, beef, and pork to cater to the beef and other
industries he plans to put in the region. He also reiterated that other
factories such as cement should also be able to consume the products from the surrounding
community.
Museveni urged the people of Karamoja to shift from traditional
agriculture to commercial agriculture to boost food security and economic gains
through crop production and livestock farming.
Museveni said that a message of wealth creation has been
widely spread to the public and only those who listened are now reaping big
from their enterprises.
Museveni applauded the Karamojong people for embracing peace which will now pave the way for development and economic transformation.
He said that the government will never allow the insecurity to return.
Responding to the calls for tarmacking roads, Museveni urged the
public to put more focus on things that create wealth at the household level
than eying at the roads.
The President said that after the peace, they are looking
forward to addressing the aspect of mindset change, health, education, infrastructure,
and water for production to consolidate agriculture.
Museveni proposed that the Karamoja strategic plan put more
emphasis on establishing two dams per Sub County across the sub-region. He also
urged to improve the electricity connectivity to boost the night economy in the
urban areas.
//Cue in : ‘’so let’s concentrate…
Cue out: "...stabilize agriculture’’.//
The local leaders presented a memorandum asking
for strategic plans to tackle poverty among the households.
Remegio Achia, the Chairperson of the Karamoja Parliamentary
Group stated in the memo that the region would need four interventions to end the
problem of poverty and increase household income and food security.
Achia explained that they need at least two tractors per sub-county
to be able to shift to commercial agriculture and boost production. He said
that they also want the existing dams to be de-silted to increase the volume of
water for production.
Achia noted that out of the 40 dams, the UPDF was able to
de-silt some at a very affordable price of about UGX200 million per dam compared
to the budget that the Ministry of Water had put forward.
He also appealed to
the President to consider compensating the households that lost their livestock
in the military detaches during the disarmament. He urged that the compensation
be channelled through the Ministry of Karamoja affairs and not other law firms
to avoid mismanagement.
Achia further requests that the reformed warriors who did
not get goats and iron sheets be supported in the next coming budget as well
because of the prevailing peace, livestock, especially goats, sheep, and
heifers have a quick way of pulling people out of poverty.
