Minister of State for Luwero Triangle Hon Alice Kaboyo has committed to provide 3000 hand hoes to the civilian veterans in the districts of Mpigi, Butambala and Gomba in Central Uganda, to help them with their agricultural activities and family income generation.
The hoes, Minister Kabatsi says will be distributed strictly to the families of civilian veterans, with each of the three districts receiving 1000 hoes.
“The hoes are readily available in our stores, so they will be arriving here anytime. We are only trying to organize transportation to get them here,” she said.
Hon Alice Kaboyo
Kaboyo was on Wednesday addressing civilian veterans from the three districts at the Mpigi District offices.
Speaking during the meeting, the minister called on the veterans to prepare their land and wait to carry out farming once the rains come.
She also emphasized the need to address climate change problems in the sub region by doing away with encroachment on wetland areas and also planting more trees.
Minister Alice Kaboyo arriving at Mpigi District Headquarters
“Right now we are having a severe drought partly because of these human activities; that is why I encourage those of you who have some land to plant more trees when the rains come,” she said
“As for those who are destroying the wetlands, the president has said that he will arrest all CAOs in districts where wetlands are being encroached on.”
In the same meeting, the civilian veterans in a joint statement read by Sheikh Badru Kayongo decried the “unfairness” in the government “Akasiimo” gratuity program, which they say has been shrunk to benefit only a few people.
“From the 47 schedules up to date we have been getting only 100 million shillings in the three districts. This means that each sub-county couldn’t get more than three beneficiaries in each schedule. Unfortunately, in the last schedule that we have just received, the three district were given 50,000,000/= million shillings only. Some sub-county like Kibibi, Kyegonza, Muduuma, Kamengo and Ngando didn’t get any beneficiary due to the little money received,” they said.
Some of the veterans attending the meeting
In response to this, Minister Kaboyo said this was because the program has recently been expanded to cater for other regions outside of central Uganda.
“Because our president wants to unite the whole country, he decided to take akasiimo to other areas like in Busoga, and even the people who fought (Alice) Lakwena have also asked to be included,” she said
“So, this is why I have been encouraging you to join these other government development programs such as the Parish Development Model.”
In the meeting, Emmanuel Ssempala Kigozi, the Mpigi RDC rallied the NRM party members in Mpigi and neighboring districts to reassert their strength in order to wrestle power back from the opposition National Unity Platform.
The Mpigi District Offices
Ssempala noted that following the opposition party’s dominance of the central districts in the last elections, many NRM members had become weak and fearful.
“Some of you are no longer wearing NRM T-shirts, you decided to hide them because you fear putting them on,” he said.
RDC Ssempala Kigozi (R) hosted the minister in his office
“But this is not the way to go. You have to show your support of the NRM in action without fearing anyone. We are the party in government; nothing should scare you about pronouncing that you belong to the NRM.”
