Museveni sets conditions for new Cabinet, Parliament

Kampala.

President Museveni yesterday said those who claim his NRM party didn’t win the 2016 elections, “have something wrong in their mind”, declaring “the election phase is finished”.

Addressing newly elected NRM Parliamentary Caucus members, who had gathered to elect the party’s Speaker and Deputy Speaker flag bearers, Mr Museveni asked journalists to give him a good headline, capturing how his out-going Cabinet nearly took Uganda to a middle income status.

Adducing evidence that his NRM party won the 2016 general election, Mr Museveni said the “sea of NRM MPs” is an indication that he won elections.

“It’s only somebody who has something wrong with his or her mind who can say that NRM did not win elections because there is evidence here as far as MPs are concerned,” he said.

The President, who addressed the MPs at State House Entebbe announced his next Cabinet, the 10th Parliament and Judiciary must take the challenge and ensure that Uganda attains the middle-income status by 2019 or 2020.

Mr Museveni said he gets embarrassed that Uganda is still languishing in the league of Low Developed Countries, asking MPs in the new Parliament to stop scrambling for trips, roaming the world like Christopher Columbus yet Ugandans expect them to deliver services.

“I want to see a firm executive, firm legislature and a firm executive working in cohesion,” Mr Museveni said, adding: “…people in the February elections ordered us to get them out of poverty and this is a command.”

Although the president has demanded for “firm” organs of State, Opposition critics continue to accuse him of weakening Parliament and Judiciary.

The President’s remarks came on the day FDC and other Opposition supporters had planned to launch a protest campaign over what they allege to have been a fraudulent re-election of Mr Museveni.

Police and other security agencies yesterday deployed in Kampala and around the country to foil the planned protests.
Mr Museveni’s election was contested in the Supreme Court but the judges unanimously upheld his victory, dismissing the case for lack of evidence and he is expected to swear-in on May 12.
Mr Museveni won the elections with 60.75 per cent of total votes cast against Dr Kizza Besigye’s 35.37 per cent.

Taking a swipe
Before asking his security to make sure that the journalists are taken away from the caucus proceedings, Mr Museveni in what looked like a swipe at his critics, said: “I want to congratulate Ugandans for having conducted peaceful election ... that phase is now finished and I congratulate the people and NRM for winning massively….. those who want evidence that NRM won elections and the journalists can see the sea of MPs who are here.”

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