In a speech that was delivered by the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, at the 30th Empango celebrations at Rukurato chambers, President Museveni highlighted the reason behind the restoration of cultural institutions which he says are a uniting factor for people.
Museveni then tasked cultural leaders to use their powers and influence to mobilize masses for development, especially guiding them on key lucrative ventures they can engage in, citing information technology, commercial agriculture sector, industries, hotels, among others.
"For a fact we know cultural institutions are very powerful, when they speak their subjects listen, so it's high time you guide them so well so that we can get rid of poverty, unemployment and see our country grow with most people employed," Museveni said
Museveni also wants cultural leaders to protect culture, saying it is instrumental in promoting cultural tourism.
"Traditional leaders have a mandate to protect and preserve culture, traditional meals, trees, sites, monuments, tombs, among others, I can tell there are a lot of people who travel from abroad to come and see certain things in our various cultures, so if they are not preserve and protected that will mean losing foreign exchange earning and cultural tourism will be going down."
In her own remarks, the Prime Minister expressed concern over Bunyoro subjects who have not taken the advantage of the regional development to invest in hospitality sector to reap the benefits.
"The Banyoro who are in Kampala and abroad should return come and invest home, the roads have been worked on, stable power supply, water is available, peace and security is guaranteed . The region is also growing at a very high speed. I know we have some hotels, but we need more, especially with the coming of AFCON, but also works in the oil and gas," Nabanja urged.
The 30th Empango coronation anniversary for the third time was marked without the presence of Omukama Dr Solomon Gafabusa Iguru 1 who has been sick since 2019 when he last appeared before the public.
