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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has commended the people of Nabilatuk for their unwavering support to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and tasked them to overwhelmingly vote for the party for another term in office because of its clarity on leadership strategies and society dynamics. He explains that the NRM has so far established a clear wealth creation strategy which no other contender for leadership has been able to counter. President Museveni also highlighted NRM’s achievements which include among others, restoring lasting peace in Karamoja and Uganda at large. “You all are witnesses to how the NRM has been able to create peace in Karamoja and in the rest of Uganda,” he said. The President in the company of the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni made the remarks today during a campaign rally held at Lolachat Primary School Playground, Nabilatuk District. President Museveni noted that after peace, the NRM’s second major contribution to Uganda has been development, which he said comprises two critical aspects — economic infrastructure and social infrastructure. “Here in Nabilatuk, you have seen what has been done, such as the tarmacked road, improved water facilities, schools, and health centres,” he said. President Museveni however observed that access to safe water in Nabilatuk still lags behind that of neighbouring Nakapiripirit District. “Out of 96 rural villages, 44 have access to safe water — that is 46%. In Nakapiripirit, it is 82%. You should find out why,” he said. He noted that Nabilatuk currently has one piped water system, with three piped water designs completed so far. Dams such as Longorikipii and Arengetekat have each been constructed with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters. The government has also built smaller reservoirs at Aputiputi, Najonai-Kalakal, Nakikokolyae/Kamosing,Namata-Alomaa, Nangorit, and Sakale/Nakoko, each with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters. Additionally, a valley tank at Napayan has been completed with a capacity of 20 million litres, and a solar-powered irrigation system is under construction to support agricultural productivity in the district. On education, President Museveni reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring free education for all Ugandan children under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) programs. “Under UPE, we are supposed to have free education, but some people keep charging fees, which makes children drop out of school. I don’t like this. The NRM wants mass education for everybody,” he said. He therefore appealed to the citizens to support his initiative of fully enforcing free education in all government schools, adding that the government had already established innovation hubs, such as one in Napak District, to promote skills and technology among learners. Nabilatuk currently has 17 government primary schools and three government secondary schools, including the newly completed Lolachat Seed Secondary School. “The plan of the government is to have one primary school per parish and one secondary school per sub-county. The NRM line is mass education for everyone,” he said. President Museveni noted that while Uganda initially promoted day schooling across the country, Karamoja might need boarding sections due to security challenges. “We shall discuss and see what can be done — perhaps make Karamoja have boarding sections for some time and, after 10 years, review whether the model can be applied elsewhere,” he added. On health, the President praised the region’s progress in immunization, which he said had significantly contributed to population growth. “When I first came to campaign in Karamoja in the 1980s, the population was 190,000. Today, it stands at 1.3 million,” he said. He announced that the government will upgrade Lolachat Health Centre II to Health Centre III, and is also undertaking the construction of Natarie HC II, Nayonai Angikalio HC III, Lorengedwat HC III, and Nabilatuk HC IV. On the other hand, President Museveni urged residents to embrace wealth creation as a personal responsibility distinct from public development. “You must add wealth creation alongside development because you can have development and still remain poor. Development benefits everyone, but wealth creation is for an individual,” he explained. He encouraged people to engage in commercial agriculture,manufacturing, ICT, and services such as transport and hospitality, which he said are creating millions of jobs across the country. “The government employs about 480,000 people, but factories alone employ 1.3 million — almost four times that number,” he noted. The President also addressed local concerns over grazing rights in protected areas, following complaints that the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) had restricted communities from grazing alongside wildlife. “They told me UWA wants to stop them from grazing in the park because they graze side by side with animals. I said they can continue grazing as we discuss with elders to find the right balance,” he said. He, however, reminded residents that tourism was also a valuable asset for the sub-region. On her part, Maama Janet thanked the people of Nabilatuk for their warm reception and love for the NRM government. “When I come to Karamoja, for me it is homecoming. Thank you for receiving us with traditional songs,” she said. Maama Janet also reaffirmed that the NRM government deeply values the people of Karamoja and urged them to safeguard the peace achieved under the leadership of President Museveni. “It is our responsibility to protect that peace and not take it for granted. We have not forgotten how we used to walk through these bushes encouraging the Karamojong to grow food for their families instead of depending on the World Food Programme,” she said. Furthermore, the First Lady commended the people of Karamoja for embracing food production and urged them to continue striving for self-reliance. “I am happy that now you are producing food and even keeping surplus in your granaries. The work of the NRM now is to help the Karamojong make a qualitative leap — from grass-thatched houses to modern homes,” she added. Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
