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If begging made countries rich Africa would be wealthy- Museveni

President Museveni

What you need to know:

  • The president advised the Ateker people that they need the countries that they come from in order to have prosperity, adding that this is achievable only when we have safeguards against tribalism and sectarianism.
  • The president also lauded the Ateker people for the spirit of brotherhood, saying it will make it easy for the Africans to unite and achieve the two historical missions for prosperity and strategic security.

The call for economic investment dominated the opening of the first Ateker festival today held in Soroti city with President Museveni emphasizing on a niche for collective prosperity as a way to tackle poverty.

Giving relevance to the  former Pan African leaders like Julius Nyere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta, Tom Mboyo of Kenya and Ben Bella, Mr Museveni said the first historic mission needed to fulfill is how to create prosperity for African people,  have strategic security , and have spirit of brotherhood.

The president who was flanked by the First Lady, Janet Museveni, told hundreds of Ateker speakers from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Ethiopia that prosperity cannot be achieved through begging from other countries.
 “If begging could make countries rich, all African countries would be rich by now. Africans have begged, so would Latin America,” the president narrated.

Mr Museveni said that prosperity comes from producing a good with applied mathematics in analyzing the optimal returns, arguing that when this is attained after one sells what they have produced, they can afford shelter, food, and also solve the issue of health.

The president advised the Ateker people that they need the countries that they come from in order to have prosperity, adding that this is achievable only when we have safeguards against tribalism and sectarianism.
The president also lauded the Ateker people for the spirit of brotherhood, saying it will make it easy for the Africans to unite and achieve the two historical missions for prosperity and strategic security.

“However, you (the Ateker people) need to catch up with the other colleagues by working with other governments to cause peace,” he said during the event that was attended by the former prime minister of Ethiopia Haile Mariam Dessalegn, who is the patron of the Ateker people, also in attendance was the speaker of Kenyan senate Amazon Kingi and ambassadors from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Turkish ambassador who led a team of investors.
 
Dessalegn said the preservation of culture and songs are treasures of their ancestors.
 According to him, the event is not just a celebration of their past but an opportunity to look at the future.
 “Empower the youth, they are the future of our society,”he impored.

Mr Paul Sande Emolot, the Emorimor for Iteso cultural union (ICU), also the host cultural head said with the railway line constructed to crisscross the Ateker land, it will enable the Ateker people to join the money economy.
 Mr David Pulkol, the former ESO boss who presented the resolutions from the Tuesday dialogue, asked the president together with his counterparts from the counties of South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia to construct mega water retention facilities along the Ateker axis.

 He said that precedence should be allocated to the road and telephone connectivity from Moroto to Ethiopia which will not only ease movement of goods and services but also ease movement of security to combat crime.