President Museveni

UCDA: Inside Museveni’s meeting with NRM caucus MPs

by · The Observer

President Yoweri Museveni has signalled his readiness to confront opposition to the government’s planned rationalization of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).

Addressing members of parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) at his Kisozi farm, Museveni reiterated his administration’s long-standing commitment to economic transformation and poverty eradication, expressing firm resistance to any disruptions to these goals.

Museveni underscored the rationale behind the UCDA restructuring, arguing that the government has been allocating disproportionately high funding to various agencies at the expense of core ministries, which he says are better equipped to lead development efforts. He contended that consolidating UCDA under the ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) would streamline operations and reduce redundant spending.

“We are going to have a showdown; they are liars and criminals playing with fire. They will not like the counterattack,” Museveni declared, underscoring his commitment to the planned rationalization of government agencies.

The president has spent the week releasing statements to explain his rationale behind integrating several government agencies, including UCDA, back into ministries. He argued that the government spends significantly more on agencies than on ministries, which employ larger workforces.

Among those opposing the move are MPs from coffee-producing regions, who contend that trans- ferring UCDA’s duties to MAAIF could harm the country’s growing coffee sector. Despite these concerns, Museveni maintains that entities such as Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), led by his brother Gen Salim Saleh, have outperformed agencies such as UCDA, Dairy Development Authority, Cotton Development Organization, and National Agricultural Advisory Services, which he also seeks to reintegrate into MAAIF.

Museveni reminded the caucus of his administration’s long-standing commitment to socio-economic transformation since he assumed office in 1986.

“A country like Uganda is very rich; it has a lot of natural resources, but the problem is that the population does not know how to use these resources to live a modern way of life,” he said, adding that this transformation is built on two pillars: universal access to education and wealth creation.

To further his goal of economic transformation, Museveni emphasized the need for Ugandans to engage in the “money economy” through key economic sectors: commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT.

“Now, if you go into one of those, you join the money economy because part of the problem in Uganda was that the majority of people were outside the money economy, working just for food,” he noted.

He stressed the importance of understanding “ekibalo” (calculation) in commercial agriculture. He advocated for intensive, high-value agricultural practices over extensive methods, asserting that intensive farming on smaller plots with high-value crops can ultimately yield substantial income even from limited land.

He highlighted his government’s success in promoting wealth creation, particularly through intensive agriculture initiatives in areas such as the cattle corridor.

“In the cattle corridor, we have done significant work. People have taken up dairy farming, but now we are focusing on crop areas where intensive agriculture can help small landholders escape poverty,” Museveni explained, adding that the concept initially faced skepticism but ultimately gained traction.

The meeting, held with members of parliament, included farmers whom Museveni considers exemplary adherents of the wealth creation initiative. Among them was Sarah Nalwanga, coordinator of the Presidential Poverty Alleviation Program in Gomba and Sembabule districts. Nalwanga explained that Museveni began the project in 2011, advocating commercial agriculture as a means to alleviate poverty.

“People had land but lacked food security because they did not know how to utilize it effectively. Since 2011, we’ve distributed crop inputs, goats, poultry, dairy cows, coffee seedlings, and banana tissues. I commend our farmers for embracing the wealth creation approach,” she said.

According to Nalwanga, over 1,800 households across nine villages in Gomba and Sembabule districts have benefited from the initiative. This includes 769 households in coffee cultivation, 556 in dairy farming, 336 in goat rearing, and others in various agricultural enterprises.

Earlier in the day, legislators and government officials toured several farms to observe firsthand the results of the wealth creation program. The tour was led by Vice President Jessica Alupo and included members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leadership, various ministers, and an East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) delegation headed by Speaker Joseph Ntakirutimana.

Ntakirutimana noted that the visit served as an oversight mission aimed at learning from Uganda’s approach to wealth creation and farm management practices.

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