NIAGARA FALLS ONTARIO: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is leaving no stone unturned in his unwavering commitment to transforming Uganda through value addition, whereby Ugandans can produce finished products for domestic and international markets. In his latest action, the president has sent his Private Secretary In Charge of Youth (Agriculture, Value Addition, Innovation, Import Substitution, and Export Promotion) who also doubles as an assistant to Lieutenant General Muhozi Kainerugaba in the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor Operations to deliver a message encouraging Ugandans in Canada to engage in value addition back home. This was delivered at the 1st Canada NRM Chapter Symposium.
Dr. Hillary Emmanuel Musoke Kisanja’s Speech to Ugandans in Canada
Date: 9th July 2022
I am Dr. Hillary Emmanuel Musoke Kisanja, Private Secretary to His Excellency the President on Youth, Women empowerment programmes. I also double as an assistant to Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba under Special Operations Office and I am also a Ugandan like you, a pan Africanist, a patriot, but also a Senior Lecturer.That’s my area of profession. Why am I here and why are we here? We are here to show you 1) what is Uganda? Where was Uganda? Where is Uganda? And Where is it going to be in ten years to come? Many of you are born here, many of you as I showed you Moses, he has taken twenty five years, he left me in primary but now I found him here now you may not know the Uganda of twenty five years back and the Uganda of now.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is true Uganda is in Africa. That means that it is a developing country. But we must not forget where Uganda came from. A hundred years back, Uganda has been involved in wars.When the colonial masters left Uganda, they handed over guns and wars. But since the completion of the armed political struggle by General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Uganda started moving. And I assure you brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, Uganda has no political problem. What Uganda is facing now, is an economic liberation war led by the commander General Yoweri Museveni to win this war of economic liberation struggle. You may believe it but we no longer have political struggles. In so doing this, you hear a lot on ground. President Museveni is a killer, he is a dictator, Uganda is bad. But where was Uganda?
Now as I fly back to Uganda, you find that a full plane is full of white people who used to tell us that Uganda is a dark country.They come because there is peace, there is security, and Uganda is on the move. I always compare Uganda to a child. You people, husband and wife, fall in love, your wife gets pregnant, after nine months, you give birth to a baby Uganda, the baby Uganda begins to crawl, baby Uganda begins to stand, baby Uganda begins to walk, baby Uganda begins to run. Now Uganda, your country, your motherland, has started to walk. But many other people want to assume that Uganda must run. When you force a kid who is supposed to walk when you force that kid to run, you must crush that kid. Unfortunately, our brothers maybe not here but in other countries in the diaspora, some of them are being used by agents, of neocolonialism. Then they make you to believe that really there is fire in Uganda. Ugandans please come back home as I told you invest in Uganda, Uganda is peaceful, and President Museveni supports you, loves you as brothers as sons and daughters as grandchildren Uganda is for you, please love Uganda.. Why I told you to rebrand Uganda is that we only come and make sure that we give the negative side of Uganda. And yet these people we are giving the negative side, are supposed to be our tourists. Yes you may have citizenship but as I told you, you have your relatives still there down in Uganda. Why I wanted to give you that history, is to know where we are going. As the prime minister told you, there are so many programs that government has done in education, in security, in road infrastructure, in bridges, power,that really are aimed at helping Ugandans.
So what you hear that State House is spending a lot of money is not true. All that money goes back to the people, to the people and these programs to back processed products. So we have become a supermarket for all other countries. So the president is trying to skill and form a formidable force of Ugandans that can make these products. And in so doing he has gone ahead to empower the artisans that is the second initiative on artisans and common user facilities by giving them state of the art machines in carpentry, metal fabrication, everything to make sure that they produce products that match with quality. You Ugandans you know very well that you are big spenders. You always want to produce products of high quality. So you find that all those areas where you used to buy your carpentry from, my sister from Entebbe Cathy, Mzee has given machines to our people in Baita, Katabi, state of the art marchines, our people there on Entebbe Road at Bata Bata, the carpenters, in Namasuba where Kinene used to stay, Chairman, in Katwe, Nsambya, Bweyogerere, Kireka, Bwaise, Kagoma, Maganjo, Ku Biiri, Mulago, so many groups have been empowered by giving them state of the art machines to change from primitive mode of production to modern mode of production and all this is geared at making sure that we can make products in Uganda, we promote Buy Uganda Build Uganda so that we save our dollars and our employment that we send to China and other countries.
His Excellency has also come up with the presidential initiative on value addition whereby h is trying to make sure that we promote value addition. I told you that I am the Private Secretary in Charge of Agribusiness, Value Addition, Innovation and Export Promotion and in so doing, in all the industrial hubs that the president has set up, he has put state of the art machinery for value addition and agro-processing based on what is grown in that particular region, what is prioritized, so that products can be made from Gulu, from Lira, from Zombo, from Adjumani, from Mbale, from Jinja, from Mubende, from Kayunga, from Ntoroko, Kasese, Kyenjojo, Soroti, Napak, in all 20 zones and this is a lot of money.
I told you my sister Namayanja is available, my team from State House they are available and the ministers will tell it to you and show you so that you come and educate our people. They blackmail the president because of their selfish gains and they know the truth. So ladies and gentlemen, I know we have limited time, but the president has come up with a number of so many initiatives to empower the common person. Since you are going to open up an office here, me I am always travelling and I can write a full paper and I will send it to the chairman, Mr. Kinene, and the team so that you know and ask any questions you want. I told you we are here to receive from you and you also receive from us. But please, let’s remain one, let’s love Uganda, let’s put aside our political differences and first develop Uganda but also let’s love ourselves For God and my country. I thank you for listening. If I get some other time I will also come and tell you the different activities directly under the president that are just an addition.
Gallery of the 1st NRM Symposium in Canada
