Last Updated on: 13th April 2023, 09:06 am
Lira, April 13, 2023: As President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni continues with his regional tour of the country, a section of NRM leaders have expressed concern about the sourcing of service providers which they say contravenes the principle of equity in sharing the national cake.
President Yoweri’s latest tour has taken him to the West Nile sub-region specifically in the great City of Arua where, besides, preaching his message of wealth creation and prosperity, the number one citizen said he would create a village anti-corruption unit at the state house to fully get the locals in reporting corrupt public officials.
TND News has been privy to information from some NRM leaders most of whom want to remain anonymous because it might cause problems. Those who spoke to the publication say the NRM party is sourcing service providers from Kampala to ensure the smooth running of the presidential tour to the chagrin of the local businessmen.
“Can you imagine, the party is sidelining our local businessmen, some of them can manage to put up tents that can host people during this tour, but they are hiring tents from Kampala, what shall then be the trickle-down effect of this tour on our local economy,” one of the female leaders in NRM lamented when she contacted TND News.
The same concerned person said this was the case when the president visited Gulu during his tour of Acholi, and it was reportedly the case in Arua.
However, one of the NRM coordinators in the Office of the NRM national chairman, Ceaser Obada has openly come out to have a say on this.
In a telephone conversation with TND News on Wednesday afternoon, he said, “I want to condemn what is happening in the regional tour of the president who is also our national chairman because we are aware that nearly all the service providers have been sourced from the center yet we also have our competent people.”
Obada is the coordinator for Lango at the Office of the National Chairman (ONC), Kyambogo in Kampala, and is known for boldly supporting the candidature of President Museveni in the 2026 presidential race.
He is also remembered for launching the Bazukulu movement to counter Bobi Wines’s wave during the 2021 elections.
“The local service providers such as those who can supply drinks, tents and decorations, music sub-systems, among others should be allowed to economically benefit from Mzee’s regional tour,” according to Obada.
The NRM stalwart, meanwhile said his team is doing all that it takes to ensure that Lango sub-region reaps big from the president’s tour, and rallied the community to turn up in big numbers when the president makes it to Lango.
Obada said they want the locals especially the youth and model farmers in Lango who are most times sidelined to have access to the president and showcase their products and initiatives that sprung up as a result of the message of wealth creation they heard from the president.
Attempts by this publication to hear from the NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong were futile as our repeated calls on his known cell phone went unanswered.
But this publication can confirm that among other services, the NRM has been hiring a music system from renowned businessman and events promoter Balaam Barugahara.