You owe me, Museveni tells Acholi

GULU. President Museveni has said he has caused enormous development in the northern region in recent years, adding that the people of Acholi owe him, for which reason he urged them to vote him and his party in 2021 and beyond.
Speaking at the commissioning of roads measuring 9.03 kilometres within Gulu Municipality on Thursday, President Museveni said his government had done its part for the people in the region. He said it was now the people’s turn to reciprocate.
Construction of the roads funded by a World Bank loan of Shs43.5 billion under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructural Development (USMID) commenced in August 2017 and was finished in November last year.

Road network
In his address to the residents and municipal leaders at the event, President Museveni said it was the first time Uganda has been linked by tarmac roads from the north to the south and east to west.
“We have never had a tarmac road all the way from Nimule [Uganda-South Sudan border] up to Kisoro District. The road from Oraba [West Nile] to Kisoro is about 700 miles but now we are from Nimule to Kisoro and Kitgum to Musingo,” Mr Museveni said.
“We have good roads, electricity and clean water. All these are developments which are mainly done by the government,” he added.
The President said since the government has now committed itself, it leaves the people of Acholi with debt.

“Once the government does its part, then the wanaichi [local people] have to do their own part and your debts are just two, not many. The first debt is the word called wealth,” Mr Museveni said.
“The second debt is a simple one, wise voting, so these are the two debts that you have; wealth for each home and voting wisely when it comes to elections,” Mr Museveni said.
He also said the good roads constructed in the municipality are aimed at spurring development.

The roads
“These roads, you won’t bring a mattress at night and put it and sleep and say there is development. This road is for everybody, the drunkards at night, the night dancers, food vendors, the traders, the preachers, they will all use the road,” Mr Museveni said, adding that the government intends to create wealth at household levels by sensitising people to shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
He, however, noted that there cannot be jobs without wealth, adding that the available government jobs are not enough for the 41 million Ugandans.

During the road commissioning, NRM party members within Gulu Municipality also endorsed President Museveni as the sole candidate for the party in 2021 presidential election.
In 2016 presidential election, Mr Museveni suffered a heavy defeat in most parts of northern Uganda. In Gulu District, Mr Museveni garnered 31,391 votes (32 per cent), while his closest rival, FDC’s Dr Kizza Besigye, garnered 48,594 votes (50.67 per cent).

Opposition not happy
Early campaigns? Mr Museveni’s statements urging people in the region to “vote wisely” in election comes at the time when Opposition politicians are decrying what they described as the President’s free run of campaigns at their expense when they are being prevented by security personnel from holding meetings.
Former Forum for Democratic Change party president Kizza Besigye and the Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, have had a rough time with police who have been blocking their meetings across the country.
But last week, the Electoral Commission chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama, said he is not aware that President Museveni is involving himself in early campaigns.

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