Kalungu – President Yoweri Museveni yesterday campaigned in Kalungu District, where he outlined the National Resistance Movement (NRM) achievements in peace, development, wealth creation and job creation, calling on residents to use the prevailing stability to improve household incomes.

Addressing supporters, Museveni said Uganda’s progress was built on the restoration of peace, which has enabled government to invest in key infrastructure.

He recalled that before the NRM came to power, the road from Kampala through Masaka up to Kabale was badly dilapidated, but has since been rehabilitated. He added that the road from Kanoni through Kampala to Kalungu has also been worked on.

The President reflected on the days of fighting around Katonga, noting that the road network at the time was in poor condition but has since improved. He assured residents that the road to Chamuni Iwa will soon be worked on, as well as the road to Tufampa.

Museveni criticised opposition leaders, saying many of them do not support government programmes and therefore fail to present the priorities of the electorate. He said government works through prioritisation, implementing projects step by step, unlike the opposition which he accused of wanting to do everything at once without clear planning.

On service delivery, Museveni said Kalungu District is well covered by the national electricity grid, with almost all sub-counties connected. He added that six out of the seven sub-counties already have Health Centre IIIs, and announced that Navutongwa Health Centre II will be upgraded to Health Centre III, ensuring that all sub-counties are fully covered.

Turning to wealth creation, Museveni said this remains the third major contribution of the NRM. He recalled that as early as 1995, he travelled across the country preaching the message of wealth creation, urging citizens to take advantage of peace just as they take advantage of rainfall to produce food. This message later evolved into the four-acre model introduced in 1996.

Under the model, farmers are encouraged to plant coffee on one acre, food crops on the second acre, fruits on the third acre, and use the fourth acre for enterprises such as piggery, poultry or fish farming, especially for those near swamps.

Museveni further revealed that 93 per cent of Kalungu District is now covered by safe water, with only 17 villages yet to be connected. He urged residents to view water not only as a domestic resource but also as a tool for production through irrigation.

He cited the Presidential Banana Initiative in Ntungamo, where irrigation has significantly improved productivity, and said similar projects will be implemented in Kalungu. He explained that water will be drawn from River Katonga and Lake Victoria under a government micro-irrigation programme aimed at boosting agricultural output and incomes.