MASAKA, Uganda: Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Thursday met leaders of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) from Greater Masaka at State Lodge in Masaka, urging them to focus on addressing the real challenges affecting citizens and expose corruption at the local level.
During the meeting organised by Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament-elect Justine Nameere, the President criticised some leaders for spending excessive time on political arguments instead of addressing the needs of ordinary Ugandans.
“It is unfortunate how some leaders waste time in Parliament talking instead of looking at the real issues and reaching the ordinary people. Leaders must expose wrongdoing and demand solutions to the problems affecting the wananchi,” Museveni said.
He warned that silence in the face of corruption undermines public trust and weakens service delivery across the country.
“Keeping quiet about thieves and corruption in your areas is unacceptable. If leaders at the district level are corrupt and Members of Parliament fear to expose them, then the whole system rots,” he added.
The President also challenged NRM leaders to confidently communicate government achievements and promote national development programmes instead of remaining silent out of fear of criticism.
Museveni further cautioned against sectarianism, describing divisions along tribal or religious lines as dangerous for national unity.
To emphasise the importance of cooperation among different communities, the President shared a personal story about how his education in the 1950s and 1960s was supported through cattle sales to traders from diverse backgrounds.
On economic development, Museveni urged leaders to mobilise communities to embrace government wealth creation initiatives such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), which aim to improve household incomes and reduce poverty.
He explained that the Parish Development Model was designed to ensure that government support directly reaches citizens through parish-level structures.
“We decided that those above 18 years should engage with the PDM funds at the parish level because districts and sub-counties were too far from the ordinary person,” he noted.
Nameere thanked the President for meeting the leaders and pledged to mobilise communities in Masaka to support government programmes aimed at fighting poverty and promoting development.
