Museveni: God does not want lazy people

President Museveni gestures as he arrives at Abongorwot primary school in Agali Sub-county in Lira District where he held a public rally on May 17, 2019. PHOTO BY ISAAC OTWII

What you need to know:

  • The president also commissioned Obote Avenue, a main street in Lira Town constructed under Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme.
  • The President who has been in power since 1986 is currently on a nation-wide tour to promote government programmes to create jobs and wealth through sustainable cost effective commercial farming.

President Museveni has said God does not want people who just look at things but rather wants everybody to work.
Mr Museveni is currently traversing northern Uganda preaching his wealth creation gospel in what he believes will “wake Ugandans up” and make them get involved in activities that will increase household income and reduce poverty levels.

“I am here to again remind our people especially the ones who are not well educated that you can get out of poverty through commercial farming on a small scale. However, even some of the educated do not know how to make money; they only know how to work for government and for people,” Mr Museveni told journalists at Lira Hotel on Friday.
“Our villagers do not have to remain unfocused and they can actually be involved but with proper planning. Those who are old enough remember that I once toured the whole country telling people that you people wake up, do modern farming and leave ancient ways of farming,” Mr Museveni said.

Once the people are awake, President Museveni is optimistic Ugandans will understand the two words of lonyo (wealth) and tic (employment).
“Some people talk about tic (employment) but they don’t know that it is a child of lonyo (wealth). If I go from pur me cam (subsistence farming) then I go to commercial agriculture but that farm of mine is my wealth.”

“That is why now we must make sure that nobody is neno ataa (just looking at things the way it is). That cheating must stop because when we are working, we are struggling. You are just looking at things the way it is. You are cheating us because you need security, you need roads but you are just looking at things the way they are. This is not what God wants, God wants everybody to work,” he added.
“In Ankole when you are in the garden digging, each one of you have got a hoe and when somebody is leaning on the hoe and conversing, people are very angry with him,” the President said.

Irrigation
The President said people do not bother fetching water besides his continuous preaching of taking the opportunity of rain sent by God.
“I remember using the word jolo pii (fetching water), how to fetch water, each of you must jolo pii (fetch water) when God sends rain. There is water all over the place but if you don’t fetch water and after the rain you will find that there is no water in your house yet there was so much water but you didn’t bother to jolo pii (fetching water) and put in your own house,” he added.

“What I meant was that there is peace now, there were opportunities for people to chase poverty from their homes but if you don’t bother to use the opportunity it will pass by you and you will not benefit,” he said.
The president also commissioned Obote Avenue, a main street in Lira Town constructed under Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme.

The President who has been in power since 1986 is currently on a nation-wide tour to promote government programmes to create jobs and wealth through sustainable cost effective commercial farming.
Members of the Opposition, however, believe it’s a campaign strategy by Mr Museveni, 74, ahead of the 2021 general elections after he expressed interest to contest for the sixth elective term of office.