The National Unity Platform(NUP) councilors from Wakiso district who recently defied their party position to attend a leadership course at the Institute of Security and Intelligence Studies at Heritage, Garuga have finally met with President Museveni.
The councilors recently vowed never to leave Garuga before the president gives them a listening ear.
On Thursday, 77 NUP councilors were part of a group of colleagues who included those from the ruling NRM party(13), Democratic Party(7) and one independent who met the president at State House in Entebbe after completing a five weeks training on key issues on mindset change and development.
While tutoring the councilors Museveni advised them to guard against disunity through segregation, tribalism and greed which he said are a stumbling block to development.
Museveni elaborated with the example of how products produced by a given tribe are not consumed by the same tribe.
“Me I am a Munyankole. I have cows which produce milk. My milk can’t be consumed by a Munyankole because we have the same products. My customers are people from other tribes like the Baganda and Basoga,” he said.
The president expounded that some time back he discovered that a big number of people were doing subsistence farming forgetting that they needed money to cater for other expenses like housing and clothing.
“After realising this, I visited some farms like Mbarara experimental and demonstration farm, Ankole-Masaka ranching schemes and Mbire stock farm, and I got some knowledge which I added on what I was taught and started to experiment with it. After confirming that this could work, I brought it on the ground through government programs like Bonna bagaggawale which was attacked by selfish politicians.”
“ I realised that some government programs were mismanaged and now brought about Parish Development Model(PDM).”
He said the new program will benefit those doing agriculture on small and big acres of land and assured them of the presence of market for goods but advised people with small pieces of land to concentrate on planting coffee, oranges, pineapples, and so on, which will earn them much money and those with big acres of land to do the above and also add growing maize, sugarcane, cotton, rearing cattle, among others .
The president said that the above are embraced under the four pillars of NRM including patrotism, pan-Africanism, socio- economic transformation and democracy, and urged the trainees to not only embrace them but also to pass them on to the masses they lead.
The Minister for the Presidency, Babirye Milly Babalanda, congratulated the leaders from Wakiso district for completing the ideological training.
She recommended the leadership of Internal Security Organisation (ISO) for accepting to offer their facilities which he described as an excellent contribution towards the struggle.
Babalanda reported to Museveni some leaders who have failed to play their part in developing the country, noting that majority of them are local council leaders who don’t know their responsibilities thus misleading the public.
She said that as a result, she came up with this strategy of mind change training and asked the president to help extend this initiative to other places were leaders prioritise politics above serving the masses.
Capt. Richard Tashobya Wazaarwa, the Commandant of the Institute of Security and intelligence Studies Heritage, said the institute trained 97 councilors for five weeks.
Capt. Tashobya said the councilors have received knowledge in political education, revolutionary methods of work, mindset change, leadership and discipline, politically motivated crimes and their dangers.
The councilors were also trained on wealth creation and socio- economic transformation, dangers of media propaganda and lies, basic elements in military science and physical fitness.
He confirmed to the president the positive response to the to the training by the councilors.
The commandant of the training schools said this was further reinforced after a tour in Namunkekera Industrial Park in Nakaseke district as proof to them that the park is active as opposed to lies by a certain group of people.
The function was also graced by Director General of ISO, Col. Charles Oluka, his deputy, Lt. Col. Emmy Katabazi, Director of Operations, Lt. Col. Emmy Mwesigwa, Maj. Emilio Enema, Capt. Abbas Sserwanga, Capt. Catherine Achom, Lt. Moses Ssekibule, Vinien Akullo, Judith Orech and Wakiso RDC, Mbabazi Justine.
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