
Workers at Nyanza Perch Limited (fish processing factory) in Jinja City cleaning Nile Perch fish for export in Busoga region. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
The vice chairperson of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Busoga Sub-region, Mr Samuel Bamwole, has said the biting poverty and sharp drop in sugarcane prices are among the critical issues that they will raise when President Museveni visits the area today.
President Museveni is expected in the sub-region on a tour to monitor the government's anti-poverty programmes, including the Parish Development Model (PDM).
Mr Museveni will begin his Busoga tour today in Namutumba. He will then proceed to Luuka, Jinja, Mayuge and conclude with Iganga District on Saturday.
Speaking at a function seeking views on making sugarcane the official cash crop for Busoga Sub-region in Jinja last week, Mr Bamwole said since thousands of residents of Busoga earn a living from the crop, the President should declare it as a cash crop and also ensure price stability to minimise losses that farmers continue to be subjected to.
Mr Bamwole said fluctuating sugarcane prices in the sub-region was among the factors responsible for the declining support for the NRM party in the area.
He also noted that youth unemployment, failure to fulfil some of the pledges made by the President, and the delayed reopening of Busoga University are equally issues of concern that the President should resolve.
“The President should help identify jobs being done by the youth in Busoga so that clear funding is given to them instead of giving them cash handouts,”Mr Bamwole said.
He added: “All those making chapatis should be brought together and those in other businesses like boda boda riders should be supported to strengthen their economic muscle.”
Meanwhile, the Busoga Region Private Schools Owners Association chairperson, Mr Swaibu Kitezaala, has said government should consider scrapping income tax on schools to create an enabling environment for the private sector.
Mr Kitezaala, also the director of Jinja Progressive Academy, Jinja City, argued that compelling private schools to pay income tax is equivalent to double taxation since the items used in schools are also taxed.
"Private school owners buy items for use from markets when they have already been taxed, therefore this direct tax in the form of income tax should be stopped,” Mr Kitezaala said at the same function.
He added: “Surely, we are feeling a big burden, which the President should help us to remove.”
Mr Kitezaala also said the President should help schools with the purchase of chemicals and laboratory equipment since the government is promoting sciences, yet private schools are struggling to secure these items and equipment.
Busoga lower local council leaders
The Busoga Lower Local Council leader’s spokesperson, Mr Ibrahim Ndoga, called for the construction of an airport in the sub-region.
Mr Ndoga argued that the sub-region is endowed with many sites, which attract tourists from different countries.
“Busoga is a tourism hub for Uganda, but the airport development has stalled yet many tourists would wish to come directly to the area without facing Kampala jam from Entebbe. The President should, therefore, address this issue,” Mr Ndoga said.
Mr Ndoga appealed to the President to sort out the issue of constructing sugarcane factories for sugarcane farmers to address the frequent sugarcane price fluctuations.
He also said the President should build more roads in the sub-region and renovate the existing ones.
What the traders want
The chairperson of Busoga Traders Association, Mr Patrick Babalanda, expressed the need for the expansion of the Sacco for traders in the sub-region.
Mr Babalanda said the government introduced Emyooga funds for traders but that they are too small to offer big capital for large-scale businesses.
“The Emyooga funds we have currently are for small-scale traders, so the big businesses cannot be funded by this programme. The President should consider expanding our Saccos for big loans,” Mr Babalanda said.

Fish dealers display their products at a market in Jinja City on January 18, 2025. Leaders want government to offer solutions to fishermen who use illegal fishing gear instead of arresting them or chasing them from the lake. PHOTO/DENIS EDEM
Mr Babalanda also wants the President to provide a solution to fishmongers selling undersized fish caught with illegal gear instead of chasing them away from the lakes.
He suggested the government should consider offering free legal fishing gear to people in the fishing business as opposed to arresting them, an issue that has dragged on for a long time around water bodies in several districts.
Reduced water and power tariffs
The National Unity Platform (NUP) head of training, leadership, and development, Pastor Andrew Muwanguzi, said since water is generated from water bodies around the Busoga Sub-region, the locals should not be charged the same prices for piped water as those outside the sub-region.
“As Opposition, we want the President to pronounce himself on the reduction of prices for water and electricity since the water bodies generating them form part of Busoga,’’ Mr Muwanguzi, who also contested for the Bugabula South MP seat in Kamuli in the last parliamentary elections, said.
“Surely, this must be addressed before he completes his tour since the high prices affect many residents,” he said.
Mr Muwanguzi also wants the President to address the poor service delivery in the region during his tour.
Boda boda riders
The Busoga Regional Boda Boda Riders Coordinator, Mr Eria Musobya, cited insecurity as the main issue in their business, which he said, needs the President's urgent attention.
“Last year, we lost close to 20 boda boda riders in Busoga Sub-region after being attacked by unknown assailants, who took off with their motorcycles,” Mr Musobya said. “We appeal to the President to offer a solution.”
Mr Musobya also decried the high charges for riding permits, which he said the President should address while in Busoga.
“The President thinks we pay only Shs100,000 as riding permit fee but we actually pay close to Shs200,000 because of other small charges like driving school certificate, provisional permit charges, test fees, learners permit and medical fee,” he said.
Mr Musobya also said companies that offer them motorcycles on loans overcharge them.
“You get a loan of one motorcycle, but you end up paying money that buys two new motorcycles. We appeal to the President to take action by rescuing us from being cheated,” he said.
NGOs contentious issues
The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the area want the President to abolish the Shs2m monthly fine for delayed renewal of their licences.
The chairperson of Jinja City NGOs, Mr Paul Batambuze, said many NGOs in the Busoga Sub-region are at risk of closing because the fines accumulate beyond their annual budgets, yet they do not intend to default on payment.
“As NGOs, we need the President’s intervention on the issue of the penalties that have become too much,” Mr Batabuze said.
Mr Batambze also called for the setting up of regional NGO registration offices by the government since the Kampala office is far, which he said increases their transport costs.
Mr Batambuze, who is also the programmes coordinator at Uganda Network for Empowerment of the Marginalised Children and Youth, wants the President to pronounce himself on the matter concerning the reinstatement of the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) which was funding many NGOs, many of which have ceased operation in Busoga due to its closure.
What traditional healers want?
Mr Patrick Mudungu, the leader of traditional healers in Busoga Sub-region, said they want the President to avail them a processing plant for herbs.
This, he said, would add value to their products and ensure quality service delivery.
“The President is emphasising value-addition for the commodities being produced in the country so that they can fetch more money on the market. This is why we are also saying he helps us to build a factory to process our medicine to increase the earnings from it,” Mr Mudungu said.
Mr Mudungu expressed dismay over the denial of scholarships to traditional healers to go to countries such as South Africa to get more skills in traditional medicine just like it is the case with other people in the medical
profession.