The leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) in Busoga, Mr Ramathan Bazanya, has backlashed president Yoweri Museveni for his economic lectures of vacating wetlands without showing alternatives to the residents in the country.
President Museveni ha repeatedly emphasized the vacation of swamps, claiming that the low priced rice and other crops have dried the wetlands, whose waters could be used in the irrigation initiatives.
The vocal DP man now tasks Museveni to produce alternatives to the people of Busoga who have for the past decades utilized the swamps for several agricultural projects and earned a living.
“We have grown rice in swamps for decades even before Museven’s coming into power, should we say they (swamps) shall only dry during his regime? Questions Bazanya.
He, however, alleges that Museveni would be having his own interests on the economic growth of Busoga subregion which he says the region was invaded by the richest individuals in the country.
“The only problem in this country especially in our Busoga is that one person owns the wealth of millions citizens and government bodies rate that the country has reached the middle income status on grounds of the rich men who determine the average,” he added.
Bazanya calls on leaders in Busoga to give right information to the president instead of praising him and apologizing for not voting for him in the previous general elections.
During the 2023 national liberation day celebrations hosted at Wakitaka in Jinja city, the minister for presidency, Milly Babalanda, on behalf of Busoga subjects, expressed apologies to the president who lost to the National Unity Platform (NUP) Principal, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. Babalanda asked for forgiveness, commiting that Busoga shall never practice which she described as a mistake.
“Did minister Babalanda noticed why Busoga did not vote for her boss Museveni. Are the reasons being addressed before apologizing?” He wondered, attributing it to people whom he termed as unserious leaders who sleep outside their areas of jurisdictions without identifying the challenges distressing their constituents.
He instead advocated for zooning, a proactive initiative of identifying the favorable crops that suits the soils in respective regions. He said agricultural experts should embark on soil sampling to discover which regional soil favors which crop.
Despite DP’s collaboration the ruling National Restistance Movement NRM, Bazanya is ready to defy his boss, Nobert Mao, if he calls for support to Museveni in the anticipated 2026 general elections.
Serving as the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mao, who is the president general for DP, signed a cooperation agreement with president Museveni, aiming to foster a democratic transition of power.
Bazanya who commended DP party for nurturing politicians, said their cooperation with the ruling party helps Museveni and the Ugandans, elaborating the importance of peaceful transition of power. He noted that DP is executing the charity work of preaching democracy and history shall be written about the ageing political party in Uganda.
Bazanya believes that Uganda can have significant transformations but due to greedy politicians and unknowledgeable voters who are only bribed with shs500 and packets of salt, ending up entrusting power to incompetent and undeserved leaders.
“On addition to voters who don’t understand the roles of their respective leaders, the country doesn’t conduct free and fair elections which really a mess,” he said before urging locals to stop voting for long-serving leaders.
