Inside Museveni’s Special Cabinet meeting in Kisozi

On Thursday, in a rare occasion, President Museveni invited all the three arms of government to what he termed as a Special Cabinet Meeting at the presidential farm in Kisozi, Gomba District.

The special meeting was a must-attend for all ministers, Vice President, Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament and her deputy.

The meeting was also attended by the NRM Secretary General and members of the ruling party's Central Executive Committee .

Whereas many, including journalists who were invited to cover the session, expected the President to make a big announcement to the country, he surprised them as he led them on a tour of four model farmers in two districts of Sembabule and Gomba.

The delegation visited a coffee farm for Yusuf Ssuuna, which sits on 20 acres in Lutunku Parish, Kyabi Subcounty in Sembabule, as well as another belonging to Anthony Ssonko in Kisozi Parish, Kifampa Subcounty, Gomba.

The group also visited two other model farmers in the two districts.

Whereas normally the officials are allowed to drive to the various functions where the president is, this was not the case this time round.

They were put in three coasters and driven to the four farms which were over 40km apart.

In one incident, before these officials arrived at the farm of Ssuuna in Gomba, there was a downpour.

Many of the ministers, most of whom had put on sneakers, found a hard time navigating through the muddy farms.

Speaking to the farmers, the ministers and others government officials got firsthand information of how they had started small and grown big.

The message

The meeting was a coded, one that President Museveni wanted his ministers and other heads of the arms of government to transmit to Ugandans.

The actual meeting that Museveni wanted his ministers to attend was the various farm tours to enable them appreciate his wealth creation message and try to emulate it in their respective areas.

The President would later hold a rally where he brought locals to give testimonies to the ministers about their transformation through agriculture.

The testimonies

“We came here in 1988 and purchased five acres of land where we started growing coffee alongside maize. We realized we could fetch more money out of selling coffee than from maize. We realized it would be more rewarding if we focused on majorly growing coffee,” Yusuf Ssuuna said.

He said that in 2011, a workshop by officials from the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) reaffirmed their decision to focus mainly on growing coffee.

He said they got more coffee seedlings from the officials.

“Every season we would use sales from the coffee to buy more land and we kept expanding our land. Right now, we have 20 acres of land where we grow coffee,” Ssuuna said.

He said he earns at least Shs30 million every year from coffee sales.

One of the farmers told the gathering that Kyayi subcounty alone sells over 300,000 litres of milk per day, thanks to listening to President Museveni’s wealth creation gospel.

“By the time the president came here, we were poor but we have improved greatly after putting his gospel into practice. The president introduced to us three things that got us from poverty including goats, coffee and dairy cows. For example, I have cows where I get 800 litres of milk every day. We are not educated but we are richer than even the educated,” the farmer said.

The cabinet ministers and other officials were later taken for a guided tour at Museveni’s farm at Kisozi.

Chauffeuring himself and the convoy in the official presidential vehicle, Museveni led the convoy to the farm where many could not help, marvel .

Many were seen shaking heads in appreciation of what they had seen at the farm.

In all this, Museveni was sending a message to these government officials about what he wanted them to do for the population.