Museveni pledges to extend electricity, tarmac roads in Kashongi

President Museveni has pledged to extend electricity and tarmac most crucial roads in the new constituency of Kashongi in Kiruhura District to boost economic activities in the area and enhance the people’s means of livelihood.

Kashongi was curved out of Nyabushozi constituency in 2015. Mr Museveni was in the area on Saturday. He visited Mr Yorokamu Kamukama, a coffee farmer in Kitura Sub County, Kitura Catholic parish and Kitura secondary school.
The president also commissioned water project serving Kashongi trading centre and the surround areas and laid foundation stone on building for Kashongi Farmers Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation (Sacco) which has 6,800 members and share capital of Shs1.2 billion.

“I heard that Kashongi you do not have electricity, so I came to find out because electricity has reached everywhere. Why hasn’t it reached Kashongi? I have come here to find out why and I am not happy standing here without seeing an electric pole. Electricity does not require much money like roads do; even if World Bank does not have money I will work on it myself,” Mr Museveni said.

He added that government first worked on Ishanyu (Mbarara)-Ibanda Road, and then Nyakahita –Ibanda-Kamwengye-Fort Portal Road but people of Kashongi complained that they were forgotten.
“Now tarmacking Ruhumba-Kashongi –Kiruhura road will follow and then later we will go to Rushere-Kinoni Nyabitanga- Ntutsi Road. So stop disturbing operations of NRM government because that is how it works; it usually has priorities before other things which happen for a reason,” Mr Museveni said.

The area MP Mr Genensio Tumuramye hailed government for elevating Kashongi Sub County to a constituency which he said is helping in lobbying for development and improvement in service delivery. Mr Tumuramye, however, said there is no health centre IV to serve people in the 9,427 homesteads, and that Kitura Sub County has no government aided secondary school.
Mr Museveni said health centre IV facility and a government secondary school will be established as per the government policy.

He asked the locals to shun sectarianism. “When NRM came in power we started telling people to stop politics of divisions. We told people that those who teach you about politics of religion and tribes are your enemies because I have never seen a road baptized in church; when it is constructed everybody uses it. So do not engage yourselves in politics of religions and tribes but rather focus on development,” Mr Museveni said.
Mr Museveni gave the farmers’ Sacco Shs50 million, contributed Shs50 million to association of Sub County NRM leaders and Shs20 million to the women groups. He pledged to give Mr Kamukama a pump for irrigation of his 30 acres of coffee.

“Visited Mr. Yorokamu Kamukama, a model coffee farmer in Kitoma, Kitura Sub-County, Kashongi County. He earns Shs160 million annually from his 30-acre coffee shamba. Household poverty can for sure be defeated through modern commercial agriculture if we all emulate this example,” Mr Museveni said.

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