Embrace govt programs, Mumbere tells subjects

King (Omusinga) Charles Wesley Mumbere of Rwenzururu has called upon his subjects to actively participate in government programs aimed at alleviating poverty in their communities.

On Sunday, Mumbere highlighted persistent challenges like poverty in Kasese District as he emphasized the limited response to development-oriented government initiatives as a cause for low incomes.

“The government recently introduced the PDM program. I am not so conversant with how it operates but if you people have seen the truth in this program, kindly embrace and use it to transform your lives socio-economically. Before PDM, there was also Emyooga, I often saw on TV that you people were embracing Emyooga. RDC where is Emyooga now? Bring it back as well if it can get our people out of poverty. It is very disheartening to lead poor people,” Omusinga said.

Speaking during Sunday mass at Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral in Kasese Town, the Rwenzururu leader also appealed to people to jealously guard their peace and provide no room for insurgents to infiltrate the country.

Mumbere underscored the importance of maintaining peace in the region as he commended security agencies for their efforts in combating the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

 “When there is insecurity, people can’t do meaningful work. You can’t go and dig when bullets are hovering over your head. The Rwenzori sub region has suffered instability for a very long time. Let us all work towards ensuring sustainable peace. I am happy that the security is slowly making strides towards eliminating the ADF and pacifying the Eastern part of the DRC,” Mumbere noted.

Appeals for regional referral hospital

On Friday last week, during a meeting with Town Clerks from the 14 town councils in Kasese District at his residence in Kamaiba Cell of Central Division in Kasese Town, Mumbere appealed to the government to establish a regional referral hospital in the district. He argued that the absence of such a facility denied his subjects access to specialized services, including advanced surgeries.

“For a long time, I have said we [Kasese] deserve a regional referral hospital to give our people access to specialised medical services. Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in Fort Portal City is quite far away and sometimes patients die on the way,” He said.

He pointed out the potential fatality of long journeys and underlined the regional referral hospital's significance, especially in light of the government's plans to develop the Kasese Aerodrome into an international airport promising to address the matter with the president during their next meeting.