{UAH} Allan/Pojim/WBK: NRM promises: Mukula pleads for forgiveness in Luweero

http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/42350-nrm-promises-mukula-pleads-for-forgiveness-in-luweero

Mukula pleads for forgiveness in Luweero

Written by URN

Is NRM's 'Mecca', Luweero searching for a new messiah?
Locals in Luweero, NRM's are calling for more action than promises from ruling party National Resistance Movement (NRM). NRM considers Luweero as its 'Mecca' having served as its launch pad for its NRA 5-year guerrilla war that brought it into power in 1986.
Both locals and the NRM leadership feel Luweero deserves some payback, however the locals are dismayed at the so many outstanding pledges that they say are conveniently promised every election year. 
Delayed compensation of veterans, the failure to establish a pineapple processing plant, addressing unemployment, poverty and the planned elevation of Kasana health center IV to a hospital status are some of the pledges haunting President Museveni's reelection bid in Luweero. 
Yesterday, NRM vice chairperson for eastern Uganda, Capt Mike Mukula who had gone to Luweero to campaign for the NRM candidate, Museveni was booed and forced to apologise for Museveni and NRM's unfulfilled promises. Mukula however, was quick to blame Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate Kizza Besigye for  sowing and spreading 'wrong propaganda' about the regime that it is deliberately keeping people in poverty. 
Mukula promised the locals that all pledges will be fulfilled; one at a time as these are not the "Genesis times" where God only commanded and the problems got solved.
"Besigye thinks these are biblical times of Genesis chapter one - where you can can just say; let there be no poverty and there will be no poverty. Jesus and prophet Mohammed were  here on earth, didn't they also leave people in poverty?! Did they solve the poverty problem? All I want to tell you, is, we are steadily and gradually developing the whole of Uganda.  People of Luweero I want to apologise for the wrongs, everybody makes mistakes. We are going to make good. Please forgive us", Mukula pleaded.

Mike Mukula fires up the crowd at an earlier rally in Lira

David Bunjo, one of the area residents explained that pineapples from Luweero are sold at a giveaway price while others are rotting due to lack of markets yet their hope for a processing plant is steadily fading.
The plan for the establishment of a processing plant in Luweero started in February 2008, when farmers under the Natural Uganda Cooperative Society Limited petitioned Museveni for a processing plant to add value to their produce.
Museveni then ordered the Ministry of Agriculture to inject Shs one billion into the project. In February 2009, the Ministry of Finance released Shs 115 million to facilitate the first phase of the project. The money was reportedly used to purchase a five-acre piece of land for the plant in Luweero Town Council but today, the land on which the processing plant was to be established has been turned into a grazing zone for animals.
Julius Kakuuto, a resident of Butuntumula Sub county is concerned that Luweero war veterans are languishing in abject poverty while funds intended to improve their livelihood get embezzled by politicians.
"President Museveni was here recently, and he told us, he was going to construct for us a modern stadium. But for sure, for all the 30 years that he has been in power, couldn't he notice that there is a need for a modern stadium here and that we need very many stadia in the country? 
For some of these basic things, they don't even have to pledge but rather work on them straight away. We'll be able to see for ourselves what they have done instead of telling us how they will construct hospitals, stadium. Imagine, in every district that he [Museveni] has campaigned in, he is making even more pledges to construct this and that. It is practically impossible to fulfill all those pledges in the next five years", he said.
Another resident interjected saying: "Mukula's pledges and apology is not different from all the previous campaigns. Every time we are about to go for polls, NRM always comes with even more promises; jobs for youth, capital funds. It is always the same message of empty promises with no results", he said.
At Kasana playground, Mukula who arrived in a chopper said that once reelected, Museveni's government would provide up to Shs 4 billion in startup capital to women and youths to address unemployment.
"Luweero is the Mecca of the National Resistance Movement. The revolution of Uganda was born out of Luweero. This revolution was ushered into power by sweat and blood. Uganda has now attained total peace because of a great leader. The people of Luweero  sacrificed their children, sacrificed their riches, destroyed their property, fought for the total liberation of Uganda. We are going to do everything possible to now payback the people of Luweero. We feel that the people of Luweero should own the leader they gave Uganda by voting Yoweri Kaguta Museveni 100%..", Mukula said.
However Mukula was booed by residents saying they had lost trust in President Museveni over the years over empty promises. Swahib Kigongo, a resident of Kizito zone in Luweero town queried the possibility of fulfilling the pledges in the next term even after failing to do the same for the last 30 years of the NRM.
Kigongo also noted Kasana health center IV is in sorry state and faces regular drug stock outs, a problem which shouldn't exist if NRM had paid attention to healthcare provision.
"We don't expect anything better from NRM. Sometimes, it is wise that when things have continuously failed on you part to just quit and give somebody else a chance to also try. They should leave us alone, we are simply tired of bad leadership. Except a new regime, NRM can't do anything any differently…promise after promise but youths still have no jobs, healthcare is in dire state.

Our Kasana hospital is just a useless structure. You can visit it anytime and trust me, you will no medicine there. And not just Kasana hopsital, all the other public hospitals, its the same. We can't continue like this. We have to change to a new regime", he said.
Several residents said they would opt for opposition candidates as a vote of no confidence in NRM.

But Ronald Ndawula, the NRM chairperson for Luweero pleaded with the residents to vote Museveni for bringing peace and stability. Ndawula added that the party has deployed three mobilisers per village to reassure residents of Museveni's commitment to fulfil the pledges.

NRM promises: Mukula pleads for forgiveness in Luweero

http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/42350-nrm-promises-mukula-pleads-for-forgiveness-in-luweero

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.