National prayer cost Shs72 million
President Museveni (right) greets Leader of Opposition in Parliament Betty Aol Ochan during the National Prayer Breakfast in Kampala yesterday. Second left is Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and Speaker Rebecca Kadaga. PHOTO BY PPU
Kampala- This year’s three-hour National Prayer Breakfast cost about Shs72.5m, going by the number of invitees and cost for a five-course English breakfast per guest at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
According to the 20th National Prayer Breakfast newsletter, the government invited 1,500 guests who comprised businesspersons, politicians, legislators, judicial officers, religious and cultural leaders among other categories.
According to the hotel management, the meal which included juice, whole fruits, hot dishes, hot beverages and pastries cost a combined price of Shs45,000 per head.
This would be translated into Shs67.5m for the 1,500 guests. The venue cost Shs5m inclusive of the public address system.
It was not readily established how much of taxpayer’s money government paid towards the event but it was co-funded by 14 sponsors who included Bank of Uganda, National Drug Authority, Civil Aviation Authority, Pride Microfinance, Tropical Bank and National Social Security Fund.
Others are Equity Bank, Uganda Development Bank, Centenary Bank, Diamond Trust Bank, Roofings, Kakira Sugar Works, Bank of Baroda and Britannia. The breakfast is commemorated annually ‘to renew and strengthen bonds of brotherhood among Ugandans’ and yesterday’s event was themed on ‘All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty’.
Speaking at the event, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, the Speaker of Parliament, cited Proverbs 6:6 which states: “Dear friends, wise leaders know their time is limited. They know that they have no time to retrieve misused or wasted time.”
However, the most interesting message came from keynote speaker, Dr Derrick Samuels, who alluded to the futility of the National Prayer fete when he said Africa is one of the most prayerful continents, but many of its people are poor.
“Why? Because prayer should have process; prayer without process is poverty. When you add process to your prayer that is prosperity. The solution for Africa is our hands; God has not cheated Africa. What should we do? We already know what Abraham did; Abraham worked so hard,” Dr Samuels said.
The guest speaker, Mr James F. Clayborne, Senator of Illinois in the United States, said it is okay to disagree but people should not allow adversity to make them “hard or soft”.
President Museveni, who was the chief guest, tickled congregants when he said though he had another engagement, he had to come to the venue to “deliver one of the ardent Christians so that she [First Lady Janet Museveni] arrived safely”.
Ms Connie Galiwango (Mbale District Woman MP), Cecilia Atim Ogwal (Dokolo District Woman MP) and Santa Alum Ogwang (Oyam District Woman MP) prayed against witchcraft, adultery, immorality and lack of respect for elders in Uganda and in the Great Lakes Region.
