Museveni takes a swipe at media, religious leaders for neglecting their role

President Yoweri Museveni has blasted media, academia and the religious leaders for neglecting developmental issues and turn focus on non- issues.

Museveni on Sunday evening gave his new year message at his country home in Rwakitura in which he highlighted a number of things that have been achieved in the past one year, as well as pointing out what government is set to tackle in the new year.

“To some of those elements, the five strategic goals do not exist. What, apparently, matters to them is political power for the political groups they fancy. Instead of working for the independence of Africa, they are always in cahoots with foreigners – encouraging the latter to meddle in our affairs,”Museveni noted.

He cited an example of the New Vision and Daily Monitor ,the two biggest print media in the country whom he said have not dedicated any program or segments aimed at highlighting the key areas for the survival of Africans neither any on the political integration of the African continent.

“Mr. Kabushenga(CEO Vision group), using the platform given to him by the government specialises in writing trivialities. The Monitor Paper(Daily Monitor) is always working for non-African interests.”

Museveni heaped praise on the 1960s newspapers and media outlets whom he said played a bigger role in ensuring the federation of the East African region.

“The headlines on the front page of the paper(Argus) , with the pictures of Mzee Kenyatta, Mwalimu Nyerere and Mzee Obote, shouted: “Federation This Year”, “Top-level talks end in Nairobi”. Has any of our media houses that are supposed to “inform”, “educate”, “entertain”, ever mentioned this to you?”

Clergy

Museveni accused of neglecting their duty to focus on talking politics whenever they get chance, something he said does not take the country forward but rather stagnate it.

“Some of our religious people are so full of arrogance. They talk most authoritatively on all and everything even when they have not bothered to find out the truth. This is assuming they do not have evil intentions which would be worse,” he noted.

Passing of the age limit bill so as to amend the Constitution to remove the presidential age limit dominated church messages during Christmas prayers last week across the country as various religious leaders called for reconciliation before asking president Museveni not to sign the bill into law.

The president said that some of these people have left undone what they ought to have done and did what they ought not to have done and that there is no truth in them.

He however urged Ugandans to turn focus on discussing the five strategic goals for Africa including independence, real democracy, economic integration, political integration and safeguarding of the African heritage.

"Young and old, I would propose that we discuss the five strategic goals of Africa seriously: independence, real democracy not just the peripheral forms of it, economic integration of Africa for our prosperity, political integration of Africa for our strategic security and safeguarding our heritage and identity, along, of course, with other topics like the football clubs of Europe, European singers etc. Only the other day my grandchildren were teaching me how to play cards (kyaanisi); but I also talked to them about the NRM struggle."