Tarmac roads will not chase poverty - Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • The President was on July 20 addressing a public rally at Apac Mayor’s garden where he campaigned for NRM candidate for Apac municipality parliamentary election Mr Jovino Akaki Ayumu and the Mayoral aspirant Mr Jimmy Okello.
  • The election is slated for July 27.
  • Mr Akaki was the former minister of state for wildlife and antiquities in the early 2000s.

President Yoweri Museveni has said that Ugandans will continue suffering from poverty if they don’t wake up from sleep and work hard to create their personal wealth. The President said the country’s development is the responsibility of government but wealth creation should be done by each household to get out of poverty.

The President was on July 20 addressing a public rally at Apac Mayor’s garden where he campaigned for NRM candidate for Apac municipality parliamentary election Mr Jovino Akaki Ayumu and the Mayoral aspirant Mr Jimmy Okello. The election is slated for July 27. Mr Akaki was the former minister of state for wildlife and antiquities in the early 2000s.

He said that despite government’s efforts in constructing good tarmac roads in different parts of the country, this will not end poverty unless individuals work hard to fight poverty in their households.

The President said that the government is determined to tarmac the road from Rwekunye - Masindi port - Apac - Lira - Puranga to Acholi but the community should not think that this will solve their problem of poverty.

“Okay tarmac can come, but tarmac will not solve the problem of poverty in your house. That road from Lira to Kamdini had tarmac in 1960’s and when we came to power we did it again. The road from Karuma to Gulu was done in the 1960’s. Are you going to tell me because there is tarmac from Karuma to Gulu from Kamdini to Lira for 50 years now there is no poor person near those roads? If tarmac is medicine for poverty why is that we still have poor people near the road?” Mr Museveni asserted.

“If we make tarmac here; it is for the public, that road is for everybody; the thief who is going to steal at night, the witch-doctor who is going to do witchcraft at night, the rumour monger who is going to Kampala to tell lies. They will all move very fast on the tarmac,” the president added.

He said that people must create their own wealth because government will not do that for anybody, but the role of the government is to put up good infrastructures to accelerate wealth creation by individuals.

He said that by tackling the problem of poverty in households, it will also help in addressing the problem of unemployment because individuals with wealth will put up investments which will help in employing other people.

“NRM does not want Ugandans to just sleep; you know some of the leaders are very dangerous because they make people to sleep by telling lies. I have children and grandchildren….in order to help them I never tell them any lies. I never tell them that life is easy, I tell them that they must struggle and should not sleep,” he said.