President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has underscored the need to strengthen peace and security in order for Uganda to continue achieving the desired socio-economic transformation.
While delivering a lecture of opportunity to 67 police officers under the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) at State House - Entebbe, the president noted that insecurity retards development because businesses cannot thrive.
"If there's rampant crime, there will be no socio-economic transformation. We must have peace and a crime free society. If there's crime and insecurity, investors cannot come here because the cost of doing business is very high. CID officers have got a very critical role in shaping socio-economic transformation," Museveni said.
He gave an example of areas in Kampala like Munyonyo and Kansanga, where people from all walks of life who ran away from their unstable countries are now running successful businesses in Uganda because of the prevailing peace.
"These people are wealth creators and need peace, so they do not run away to take their businesses elsewhere."
He reminded the officers to always do their work keeping in mind the ideology of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) that is anchored on the four principles of patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation and democracy.
"This little war is against thieves, and you can deal with them, but you must start by being clean yourselves."
The president further noted that the only way Africa can have a prosperous life is to engage in production of a good or a service and sell it and not through begging.
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He urged that all Ugandans must get involved in the four sectors of wealth creation including commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT.
Museveni applauded the police leadership for listening to his advice to continue training their officers, saying when they came to power in 1986, they realized that part of the problem of security and the fight against crime was ideological and people were not able to do their work because they didn't know what their societies needed.
"It's good to have these courses to know how to fight crime but also the vision of society of how the future should be. Political management is like medicine. If the patient is to be saved, the doctor must get the diagnosis correct," Museveni said, adding that many of the African countries are unstable because they are not able to diagnose their problems properly.
The Director of Police CID, AIGP Major Tom Magambo Rwabudongo informed President Museveni that they have started doing some good work on high profile cases and corruption despite elements of intimidation.
He added that they have gone ahead to set up a complaints desk at CID headquarters in Kibuli and a toll-free line will soon be installed for members of the public to directly reach out to them.
The Director of Human Resource Development at Uganda Police Force, AIGP Godfrey Golooba thanked President Museveni for the trust he put in them to professionalize the force.
He further briefed the president that the three months' refresher course on criminal investigations and intelligence at Kabalye Police Training School has been successful and that another batch of 77 officers will report for a similar course later this month.
