Amb Birigwa made the cash pledge in a post-nomination speech he made at FDC national headquarters in Kampala.
Birigwa said that once elected president he will immediately ask parliament pass a bill to allow each household in Uganda to receive 100,000 Uganda Shillings for a period of 6 months as a start-up capital to fight the biting poverty in the country.
Birigwa says that in the prevailing situation of unemployment coupled with the economic crisis due to covid-19 pandemic, the citizenry need a “scientific” intervention in their livelihoods as a measure to spur economic progress.
“I have suggested somewhere before that as we go through COVID-19 and the economic crisis, we should start off by helping every household to have Entandikwa. I propose that in my first 100 days when I am President, I will ask parliament to pass a bill to allow every household to receive 100,000 shillings for at-least a period of six months” Amb Birigwa said.
Birigwa says the cash pledge is possible owing to ” huge wastage” the country incurs on State House budget and funds spent on fleets that accompany government officials. He says cutting this wastage can facilitate development projects and improve people’s livelihoods.
He also stressed the need to modernize agriculture as a measure to improve productivity and Uganda’s export potential. He said as a president of an agriculture nation, he would also introduce the concept of “One village-one-product” which was successfully used to spur production in Japan. He said until factories are extended into villages, development will remain a farce.
An entrepreneur, Amb Birigwa said he is offering himself as a “Technology candidate” whose record has proved that technology can turn around the fortunes of Uganda, having been the first person to introduce cellular phone network services to Uganda and East Africa.
“You can imagine how many Ugandans have phones in Uganda and how much contribution that is to the economy” He said amidst applause from FDC supporters.
In early 90’s, Birigwa partnered with an Indian called Shiraz Hudani and later Azim Kassim to put entrepreneurial plans together that saw the birth of CELTEL Cellular Telephone services, the first cellular service provider in Uganda.
In his speech, Birigwa also rallied support on account of provision of better and accessible health care, better education services and provision of jobs for graduates, contrary to the prevailing situation characterized with massive unemployment rates.
“In my administration, I will make sure that everyone who needs medical attention should be able to receive it in government hospitals because health is paramount. I promise that!” Birigwa said
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