Museveni’s Congolese roads and NRM politics in Kasese

The government on Monday, September 28, authorised the construction and upgrading of roads inside the Democratic Republic of Congo. These include Kasindi-Beni (80km), Beni-Butembo (54km) and Bunagana-Rutshuru-Goma (89km). 

This “foreign investment” will increase mobility, trade and security in the region. DRC is Uganda’s second largest trading partner in the region, whose 2018 import bill (from Uganda) was $204m (Shs754b).

The planned 223km roads will cost about $60m (Shs222b). With a proper road network and unlimited market access, Uganda can get back this money in less than two years as taxes on exports to Congo (taxes on imports from DR Congo?). I got this from Mr Duncan Abigaba’s Facebok wall.
At a personal level, Uganda’s policy shift on the DRC is worth celebration. My only fight now is to make sure the Kasindi-Beni-Butembo road is prioritised and done first. 

The last time this road (Kasindi-Beni) was worked on (marrum) was in 2001. And guess who did it: Government of Uganda. I have heard people peddling influence calling for the Bunagana-Rutshuru-Goma road to be done first. Please stop it; the stats on the volume of trade on the Kasindi-Beni-Butembo road are well known in Kampala and Kinshasa.  For some strategic reasons, I support Museveni on this particular “foreign investment” even if I will cynically still call it “Museveni’s Congolese roads.” Uganda needs the Congo market pretty bad.
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I spent the night in Mbale and set off for Kampala at daybreak on Sunday, September 6. For the Kasese leg, we set off from Kampala at 4pm and reached Kiburara at 11:10pm.

 Need I say I was exhausted to the marrow…? Yet for someone who had fled the characteristic chaos in NRM primary elections in Mbale, I landed myself in the post-elections confusion of the NRM primaries in Kasese. We did what we could to calm post-election tempers (which, left alone, could have negatively impacted the party, the community and general elections). Yet our actions don’t seem to have been appreciated. But our actions are always in good faith and guided by our high sense of mission.

Then there were (the) questions: Who is Bisiika? What is he doing in Kasese? Where does he get all that money? He joined NRM only two months ago, who assigned him to ‘manage’ things in Kasese? Others levelled accusations: He likes money too much. He likes women. He is a rebel. 
He is Opposition. He is FDC. 

Dear reader, ever heard of people dying in their own movies…? Our mission in Kasese is simple: We promised Museveni a minimum of four NRM MPs and district chair. And after my one-week stay in Kasese, my new assessment is that we could even deliver a fifth MP and Mayor of Kasese Municipality.
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The challenge in Kasese is that none of the NRM MP candidates are incumbents. Three of the MP candidates have never participated in any parliamentary elections, while three participated in the 2016 and lost. Those who have never participated in elections are Sowedi Kitanywa (Busongora North), Mary Kighota (District Woman) and Dr Julius Monday (Bukonzo East). The other three participated in the 2016 elections and lost. They are Dr Crispus Kiyonga (Bukonzo West), Gideon Mujungu (Busongora South) and Ferigo Kambale (Kasese Municipality). 

NRM MPs candidates in Kasese face the following challenges - missing the advantage of incumbency;  the status of an outpost district with limited link to party headquarters; and Kasese being Kasese.   
These candidates need support pretty bad, otherwise, ‘our promise’ goes burst. That’s why I need someone to help me with (NRM secretary-general) Justine Lumumba’s phone number. We need to talk. 

Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]