On Thursday, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni addressed Members of Parliament at the parliamentary regional sitting held at Kaunda Grounds in Gulu City. His speech focused on several key issues:
Wealth Creation Initiatives
President Museveni urged MPs to mobilize Ugandans to engage in wealth creation activities, emphasizing the importance of starting with improving homestead incomes. He reiterated his support for the four-acre model of farming, which he introduced in 2018. This model involves utilizing up to four acres of land for a combination of coffee, fruits, pasture for dairy, food crops, poultry, piggery, and potentially fish farming if near wetlands. He stressed that even small-scale implementations can be highly profitable.
Agricultural Policies
Museveni also discussed recent policy changes, including the removal of an 18 percent tax on locally produced starch and the imposition of high import duties on imported starch. He encouraged MPs to support extensive agriculture for those with larger plots of land and emphasized that intensive agriculture with high-value enterprises can significantly boost income.
Education
The President called on MPs and other politicians to advocate for free education in government schools, arguing that charging for education leads to children missing out on schooling and becoming street children. He criticized those who oppose free education and urged them to either support the policy or remain silent.
Acknowledgment of the UPDF
Museveni thanked MPs for passing a motion recognizing the contributions of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government in stabilizing Northern Uganda. He highlighted the role of ideology, discipline, and effective planning in the success of the UPDF. He also reflected on the historical insecurity in regions like Karamoja and the impact of past conflicts on Uganda’s refugee crisis.
Regional Parliamentary Sittings
The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, praised the regional sitting in Gulu as a historic milestone, being the first of its kind. She emphasized that these regional sittings are legally and procedurally grounded and aim to address issues pertinent to specific regions, contributing to a more people-centered approach to governance.
Tributes to MusevenI
During the sitting, Parliament paid tribute to President Museveni for his leadership in ending the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict and restoring peace and security in affected regions such as Acholi, Lango, West Nile, and Karamoja. Kazo County MP Dan Kimosho highlighted the humanitarian crisis caused by the LRA conflict and praised the UPDF for its role in resolving it.
Overall, Museveni’s address and the regional sitting reflect a broader effort to decentralize parliamentary activities and engage more directly with local communities, while also addressing critical issues related to agriculture, education, and regional security.
