KAMPALA – The People Power movement has released a statement concerning the recent State of the Nation address.
The movement’s spokesperson Mr. Joel Ssenyonyi pointed out a number of areas that they think should be worked upon and also suggested recommendations concerning different sectors in the country.
According to People Power, President Museveni spent more time giving history and lectures about 1986 and the past years.
“There is nothing wrong with history but if you always glorify your history, that means you are not doing much today,” reads the statement in part.
The statement released on Tuesday, June 11, points out the fact that people power supporters have been brutalized, killed and detained by police on political grounds while other supporters have disappeared mysteriously.
The political pressure group has called for the immediate release of their radical supporters who are currently under police detention.
“We demand a quick investigation by police so as to bring to book all those responsible for these injustices committed against Ugandans who have a right under chapter four of our constitution,” reads an extract from the statement.
In regard to corruption, the People Power movement criticized the president’s move to fight corruption through creating the State House Anti-Corruption Unit claiming that when the current institutions are weak and struggling, new ones are not needed.
“The IGG has always complained of poor funding, understaffing… Empower the institution and the IGG to do her work, if she fails, replace her, but creating a parallel unit simply increases our cost of administration,” They said.
The movement says that the health sector is still in a worrisome state which is why many government dignitaries fly abroad to access medical attention at the taxpayers’ expense.
“Why not fix healthcare so that all Ugandans benefit? We can and we should fix health facilities in Uganda, and pay doctors better so that they don’t flee the country.”
The statement also termed Universal Primary Education (UPE) as being of quantity other than quality and pointed out the need to invest in human resource development at an early stage since these are an asset to the country.
“Uganda’s biggest resource is the people, we must invest in them,” reads the statement in part.
People Power has also expressed worry over Uganda’s debt burden which stands at 41 trillion shillings and has attributed its accumulation to unplanned investments, the increased extension of tax holidays to foreign investors leaving out the local ones.
They also decried the extravagance of government officials.
In a related incident, the Democratic Party Chairman Mr. Nobert Mao during a weekly party press conference this week also criticized President Museveni’s State of the Nation address saying it did not address relevant national issues.
“The state of the nation address was not about citizens. It was about promoting projects which are used as avenues for corruption,” he said.
Mao has suggested that the government should use people’s purchasing power instead of using the income pa capita method.
“I want the government to use purchasing party, how many Ugandans can afford what they need? That is the essence of economics,” Mao remarked.