We have every reason to celebrate independence day, says NRM’s Rose Namayanja

 The NRM Deputy Secretary-General Rose Namayanja has said the country has every reason to celebrate Independence Day because of the immense achievements in the last 59 years.

“Uganda has gone through the crisis period, conflict period, post conflict and rehabilitation period and currently we are in the development period. Our history gives us an idea of how things looked like or how they can look like. We can't forget where we have come from,” Namayanja said.

She was on Tuesday appearing on  NBS TV’s  Morning Breeze show where she discussed Uganda’s state of affairs since it gained independence 59 years ago.

“One of the things we haven't done well is telling the young people where we have been. We had two decades of turmoil, but now we are in a country of stability,” Namayanja said.

“As NRM party we are proud of this journey. We have quality education.  We have UPE products in Parliament now. We haven't reached the quality, but we have reached the quantity. For me, that is basic.”

Namayanja said whereas there is something to celebrate, there are still some challenges like corruption and unemployment that she said need to be tackled to be able to enjoy total progress.

"It has been a journey and we have made substantial progress but we have not reached yet where we want to be.”

Optimistic

Namayanja said now that the country has achieved the basic, it can take off since there is a foundation to build on.

“We are now at the point where the countries can takeoff. All of us need a mindset change.”

“Development without security is impossible, and security without development is temporary. We now have security and it can help us work on development.”

She however noted that there is need for deliberate efforts for mindset changing of the population.

“Uganda is the only country in East and central Africa where we have had nine Presidents even when we got independence largely around the same time. Therefore what we went through did not give us enough time to develop the mindset software like Singapore currently. We are now looking at mindset change and national consciousness,” Namayanja said.

“At the NRM headquarters we have developed Ideological Clinics every Thursday to reshape the minds of our people and giving them a sense of identity as Ugandans.”