Simon Kasyate & Daniel K. Kalinaki
27 January 2006
Kampala — President Yoweri Museveni marked 20 years in office yesterday by listing the achievements of his government and reassuring the country that the ruling Movement was still firmly in charge.
After MiG21 jets and helicopter gun ships flew overhead and tanks and other military vehicles roared in a military parade at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala, Mr Museveni said the army had built its capacity to defend Uganda.
"That is why I agreed with the army leaders to put up this parade so that all Ugandans are assured that there is no threat of any type to our country," he said. "We are so organised now that anybody who tries to destabilise Uganda will regret forever."
The crowds craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the huge gun ships that drove past in well-synchronised movement.
In mockery of FDC leader Kizza Besigye and his supporters, some people in the crowd occasionally shouted out, "Baliina ennyondo, tulina emamba" (They have hammers, we have tanks). The hammer was the unofficial symbol of Besigye's 2001 presidential campaign against Museveni.
Museveni said his National Resistance Movement, which took power on January 26, 1986, had rescued the country from anarchy.
"I congratulate all of you for reaching this date of the 20th anniversary of the victory of the National Resistance Movement against the primitive forces of fascism, murder, and extra judicial killings," he said.
Museveni's National Resistance Army fought government troops for five years, defeated Tito Okello's military government in 1986, which had ousted Milton Obote's second regime in a July 1985 coup.
Museveni won elections in 1996 and 2001 and is running for re-election after the 1995 Constitution was amended to remove the two-term limit on the presidency.
None of his challengers for the presidency were at Kololo yesterday despite being invited. His leading opponent, Dr Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change, fought with the NRA and served Museveni's government in various capacities until he fell out in 1999 to protest what he called lack of internal democracy in the Movement.
Besigye was campaigning in Apac yesterday while Democratic Party candidate John Ssebaana Kizito was in Mpigi. The other two candidates, Ms Miria Kalule Obote of the Uganda Peoples Congress was campaigning in Ntungamo, while independent Abed Bwanika was in Kalangala.
Museveni said yesterday that the Movement had made 17 strategic contributions to the development of the country in the last 20 years. He said his government had removed dictatorship and "stopped the killers from coming back to power using the gun".
Museveni said the Movement had also empowered the people by giving them the opportunity to vote for their leaders, and allowing marginalised groups such as women, youth, workers, and people with disabilities, the right to be represented in Parliament.
The President said his government had improved the health of the population through universal immunisation, and increased primary school enrolment through free UPE. "Since 1997 when UPE started 2.9 million pupils have sat for PLE and 2.3 million have passed," he said.
Museveni defended the scheme against claims by opposition politicians that it offers poor quality education.
"Some of the liars have been going around saying bonna basome [education for all] means bonna bakone [mediocre education for all]," he said. "Those fellows are big liarsā-oe These are real liars posing as politicians. These liars are now going to face us through the court of the people. Bonna basome has helped our children very much. It has worked very well." The president said his government has expanded employment through attracting investment, building factories, creating more industries.
He said the Movement had enhanced freedom of association for trade unions and reformed the public service.
Museveni, who says he is standing for re-election partly to work towards a federation of the three East African states, said his government had made achievements in fighting for regional integration.
"In order to be rich, you must be independent. We are also creating markets for our goods," Museveni said.
The President said his government had repaired and built new roads, increased electricity and energy supply, and tamed the army.
"These young soldiers you see here are very polite," Museveni said, pointing at the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces soldiers who participated in the parade. "They are disciplined and they respect human rights. We have built the capacity of defending Uganda."
The President, who has previously blamed the continuation of the war in northern Uganda against tKony rebels on a donor-imposed cap on how much of the budget should be spent on defence, said he would not allow external interference on the matter.
"Defence is our sovereign area," Museveni said. "Nobody can comment on that except the President and Parliament who are elected by the people. Nobody can disturb us. That is why [LRA leader Joseph] Kony has fled."
The President, however, thanked donors for the assistance provided to Ugandans living in internally displaced peoples camps in northern Uganda.
"We have Shs19 billion for resettlement of people in camps in Lango and Teso if they want to go back to their homes," he said. Other achievements of the government, Museveni said, have been in national defence, ensuring microeconomic stability, eliminating sectarianism and enacting laws against all forms of corruption, including electoral corruption.
The President said his government had increased the supply of safe water and made several attempts at improving access to micro-finance schemes. He introduced former Vice President Dr Specioza Kazibwe, who is on holiday from a PhD at Harvard University as a senior cadre who will be in charge of the programme to smoothen micro-finance.
The opposition has questioned many achievements of Museveni's government, particularly during the current election period, and criticised the President for his reluctance to leave power. The opposition has also questioned the President's democratic credentials, and accused him of unfairly restricting the activities of political parties until last year when a referendum gave way to the return to multiparty politics.
Several European donors have recently either cut or suspended about US$73 million in promised aid in protest against the government's handling of the political transition.
The aid cuts were also in protest over what many donors and the opposition consider a bloated public administration structure.
The opposition claims that Museveni has failed to fight graft and has protected or rewarded officials accused of corruption or abuse of office.
The four candidates running against Museveni have also condemned his government's failure to end the war against the LRA, which has been going on since 1987 and which has left at least 1.5 million people living in IDP camps in northern Uganda.
Although the number of Ugandans living in extreme poverty has fallen from 56 per cent to around 38 per cent under Museveni's watch, it has remained a hot campaign issue with the opposition accusing the ruling Movement of not doing enough to create jobs or share out the country's economic gains more equitably.
However, yesterday Museveni dismissed the opposition as liars.
He said the remaining challenge for his government was the problem of subsistence farming. "This is a big problem," he said. "You can't have food security without income security."
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