Fight against poverty starts with individual initiatives- Museveni tells Lango

President Museveni has challenged leaders at all levels to teach their people how to get out of poverty using their land and not to focus on one economic activity.

The president, accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, made the remarks during his  wealth creation and Parish Development Model (PDM)performance assessment tour in the Lango sub-region by visiting where, among others, he visited Jowel Okello, a model farmer in Amolatar District.

Mr. Okello, who started by using family land, has since expanded his enterprise to over 300 heads of cattle as well as goats, sheep, pigs and a variety of crops.

“I’m very happy that our son Jowel is not sleeping, and I want to thank Gen. Muheesi who challenged him to move on his own,” the president said, adding that despite having a lot of resources, the main cause of poverty in Uganda and Africa is oversleeping .”

“Because there’s so much wealth here, to really have poverty is a very big shame, but the problem is oversleeping. Because you see the things you’re talking about—roads and hospitals—all that is development, which is for all of us to use. For instance, the road from Kampala to Lira to Gulu was already tarmacked by the time of Idi Amin, but I’m sure when you go there, you’ll find poor people. Therefore, as we struggle to fight poverty, let’s start with wealth creation in homes. So, I’m really very happy with Jowel Okello, and all leaders should push that line.”

He also promised to motivate Mr. Okello, by helping him get solar power and later electricity, which is in a range of five kilometres, a water pump and a tractor.

The president also gave shs10 million to the 10 PDM beneficiaries who had come to listen to his message and called upon the people of Lango not to look at fishing as the only economic activity because it cannot absorb everybody.

“I want you to tell me who should be on the lake and how many and why.When you talk of cows, the balaalo (cattle keepers) are the leaders. With them, the cows in Uganda will always survive. Okello told me that he got some cows from Sembabule and also from Igongo near Mbarara. So, you can see the base of the cows in Uganda are these Balalo people. But who are our traditional caretakers for the fish so that we know once those communities are there, the lake will be protected for all of us?”Museveni asked.

First Lady Janet  Museveni said she was happy to learn that Mr. Okello and his wife are working together as a family and supporting each other and prayed that the same spirit continues countrywide among the beneficiaries.

“If they have to borrow money, they borrow the money together, so they must take the responsibility to pay back, and that unites them and makes them work harder together. That is a very good culture. Our people should really learn to know that if you are working as a family, if you hold hands together as a man and his wife, that family will be stronger. So, I admire the young man here. As he was introducing his family, he introduced the contribution of his wife,” the First Lady said, adding that the same culture is still lacking in Uganda, and the husbands used to look at their wives as mere housewives to do the cooking and people would undermine them.

“But now you can see these young men, and they hold hands together with their wives; their work will be a lifeline. Their families will become stronger, and their communities will grow stronger. I thank you as a community. I pray that all the families here are holding hands together and working together, and our families, our communities, and our nation will grow stronger,” she noted.

She  also commended Mr. Okello and the wife for becoming examples of wealth creation, saying if every family adopts the same culture, Africa will never lack.

On the other hand, Mr. Okello said his humble background of selling alcohol for school fees has been a driving force for him to become somebody in life by, among others, embracing the wealth creation message of President Museveni, where he also discourages land fragmentation.

“This is family land. I always tell my brothers and sisters that even if I’m not there tomorrow, please don’t divide this land, because I know the benefit,” he said.

Mr. Okello, who now employs 18 permanent staff at his farm, started his enterprise in 2016 after retiring from national water, where he worked for seven years and later visited Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Balaba Muheesi, who inspired him more to become a wealth creator and is now becoming an example to others in the district, most of whom are engaged in fishing.

“I went to the market. Someone who has kept his cow for two years is selling it at Shs 250,000. I’m selling a goat for eight months at Shs 500,000, so we must invest in changing the mindset of the people. We have a lot of opportunities in northern Uganda,” he added.

Amolatar LC5 chairman, Mr. Geoffrey Ocen Kiring, expressed gratitude to President Museveni for dedicating his life to ensuring that every Ugandan is involved in wealth creation through the different programs, such as the PDM, youth livelihood program, and women entrepreneurship fund.

He revealed that Amolatar has received Shs17.6 billion and disbursed Shs 10.5 billion to the 10,800 households in the district.

Mr. Ocen reminded the President to upgrade Amolatar Health Centre IV to a general hospital in order to save on referral expenses and reduce maternal mortality rates.