KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga has asked the government to draft another special programme to help revamp districts in the Luwero triangle because of their contribution to the liberation war.
Greater Luwero districts were the epicentre for the National Resistance Army (NRA) war of 1981-1986 that ushered President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni into power. When he assumed power, President Museveni created a Special Ministry In Charge of Luwero Triangle compensation programmes and made personal donations to residents of Luwero in appreciation of their contribution to the war.
But 36 years after the war, Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition, says that the residents of districts in greater Luwero are still stuck in abject poverty and dodged by poor social services. Greater Luwero comprises Luwero, Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts. According to Mpuuga, the past development programmes and handouts have not created an impact in the area because they were only intended for sloganeering.
He questioned why other areas have registered growth but areas, where the NRM fought from, are still lagging behind in development. Mpuuga has asked the NRM government to table a fresh broader programme in parliament aiming at infrastructure development and improving service delivery in the area.
Denes Sekabira, the Katikamu North Member of Parliament has welcomed the proposal, saying that the earlier programmes failed to create an impact because they were majorly donations to individuals instead of infrastructure development.
Sekabira said they need a programme that can help them construct a fruit processing plant for pineapples, upgrade roads to tarmac and other services that benefit communities.
Hassan Kirumira, the Katikamu South Member of Parliament, says that Mpuuga’s proposal is a challenge to the government to ensure that the area that contributed to the war can also boast of a share of the National cake.
Dr Ruth Nankabirwa, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, said although the proposal is welcome, it may necessitate the amendment of the National Resistance Movement manifesto.
In 2021, President Museveni’s support in Luwero district dropped to the lowest and the majority of NRM candidates lost elections over what residents, said was a vote of no confidence because of poor service delivery.
According to the 2021 Presidential results, Museveni obtained only 41,166 votes (27.94 per cent) out of 151,964 votes cast in the Luwero district. His main challenger. Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu scored 103,782 votes (70.45 per cent).
An analysis of tally sheets from the Luwero district shows that Museveni scored less than 20 percent in 113 out of 471 polling stations.
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