The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Wafula Oguttu has faulted President Yoweri Museveni for leaving out corruption and unemployment in his New Year address to the Nation.
“I listened to president Museveni’s New Year message twice and failed to get anything of substance. I expected policy statements, especially on the economy and unemployment,” Oguttu says in his response.
He adds that he expected apologies for mega corruption, “senseless killings and turmoil in his Ruling Party”.
“Instead, he treated us to his usual Lamentations. A person in charge of $6bn budget and with absolute power should not lament and think aloud but act and do things.”
In his New Year message delivered Wednesday at his up-country home in Rwakitura, the president emphasis was on agriculture.
“I congratulate all Ugandans because when I fly over Uganda nowadays, I notice a spirit of Okusiisimuka or Kuzukuka (waking up),” he said.
“What do I mean by ‘waking up’? The ‘waking up’ I am talking about is more and more Ugandan families entering small scale commercial farming with ‘ekibaro’ the aim of maximizing financial returns per acre as we have been recommending to you ever since 1995.”
He adds that with the introduction of the UPDF officers into the NAADS programme, he is hopeful this will improve on agricultural yields since it “has been very successful (elsewhere) that we have had maize bumper crops in the Luwero area, in the Kibaale area.
“This plan was in order to overcome poverty from all our homesteads through small scale commercial production.”
Meanwhile, he also talked about the recent murders of Moslem clerics, saying “there must be something sinister going on in our Moslem community”.
He says he told the Inspector General of police I told the Inspector General of police to make sure that they find the killers of the Sheikhs.
