By Namazi Sarah
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has on independence day hailed deceased indigenous businessmen James Mulwana and Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige [BMK] for showing Ugandan how to create wealth with patriotism.
Speaking during the 59th Independence Day celebrations at Kololo ceremonial grounds on Saturday, President Museveni said the deceased businessmen saw a chance to create wealth where others never expected, despite never being in politics.
Mulwana, the group chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Mulwana Group of Companies a diverse business conglomerate with interests in dairy farming plastics, manufacturing and real estate died in 2013.
He was the brain behind Jesa dairy products, Uganda Batteries Limited and Nice House of Plastics.
On the other hand, BMK who died last month was the brain behind Hotel Africana in Kampala, Moroto and other parts of the African continent in the hotel business.
Museveni said that, Mulwana was always fundraising for the NRM because he well understood that it is only that force, that could guarantee peace in Uganda and render her safe for business.
He also had private-sector friendly policies, like the ban we imposed on the export of used batteries, which was what Mulwana asked me to do for his company, so that he gets batteries to recycle.
Speaking about BMK, the president said despite not having business in the Queen Elizabeth in Kasese, he was worried with happenings to the animals in the game park.
“One time, I had gone to Hotel Africana for a meeting. Burahimu Kibirige was worried. When I inquired from him what the problem was, he told me. The problem was, that the Basongora herdsmen in Kasese, had poisoned and killed lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park in revenge for lions eating their Cattle. Kibirige was worried that, that act, would damage tourism,” the president said.
“His concerns were national and his investments were national and, I hear, even Pan-Africanist. He understood the usefulness of Uganda and Africa.”
According to Museveni, being champions of wealth creation, the two deceased businessmen supported efforts to ensure a peaceful country which would ensure success of their ventures.
He noted that government has now introduced Emyooga and parish development model programs aimed at ensuring wealth creation, urging Ugandans to embrace the programs.
“These plans are aimed at converting the remaining 39% of the homesteads from subsistence farming to commercial farming and other money generating enterprises, with proper enterprise selection. They all must join the ranks of wealth-creators. It will improve our politics, incomes for homesteads, purchasing power for buying products of goods or services produced by our factories, create a wider tax base, creating more jobs for the youth and being able to support the places of worship and political actors of our choice,” Museveni said.
“Let everybody embrace wealth creation and the principles and strategies that support it including patriotism, pan-Africanism, social – economic transformation and democracy and avoid idleness, dependency and parasitism.”
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