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Preparations for NRM 33rd anniversary in high gear, 114 Ugandans to receive medals

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By George Mangula

Preparations to mark the 33rd NRM/NRA Victory Day Anniversary on January 26, 2019 are in high gear, according to Justine Lumumba Kasule, the NRM Secretary General who briefed the media on Wednesday at the party’s headquarters in Kampala.

According to Lumumba, this year’s celebrations are scheduled to take place in Muwafu Primary School Grounds, Nabuyoga Sub County, Tororo District under the theme: “A moment of glory that set a new Chapter for Unity, Peace and Prosperity in Uganda”.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, a bush war hero, will grace the celebrations as the Guest of Honour. Dignitaries from within the country and outside Uganda are also expected to attend the function.

“Ugandans are therefore invited to come over to Tororo and join the president to celebrate this critical day in the history of Uganda. Ugandans from all walks of life and from all political groupings are invited,” she said.

The President is expected to offer different categories of medals to 114 Ugandans who have offered distinguished services, most importantly those that have sacrificed to protect and defend motherland Uganda.

She said the liberation war which was fought between 1981-86 should not be seen as an end in itself.  Rather, she said, was a moment of glory in which the People of Uganda opened a new chapter to rescue themselves from dictatorship and misrule.

The then total terrorism in the country, she said, had bred secondary vices such as: tribalism and sectarianism ideologies. “This created a legacy of bad politics, poor governance, disastrous social development philosophies and practices,” she said.

“In the 33 years, the NRM government introduced participatory democracy where power was given back to the people.  We have also continued to witness regular, free and fair elections at National, Parliamentary and Local Council level,” she said.

Uganda, Ms Lumumba said, continues to enjoy unprecedented peace and stability, within her borders, under the NRM regime.

On the social service sector, Uganda continues to register impressive growth as recorded by relevant authorities. “The literacy rate for Ugandans increased from 54 percent in 1991 to 72.2 percent in 2014. This has been made possible with the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE). Government has continued to construct seed schools in sub-counties without a Government secondary school,” she said.

She said new water mains per annum have increased from less than 100km in 2013 to over 1000 km per annum currently.  “As at September 2018, the total network length was 14,838.56 km. Water coverage and sanitation by National Water & Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) covers 238 towns.  Service to less-advantaged communities, through installation of public taps is now at 1000 km per annum, compared to 100 km before 2014,” she said.

In terms of provision of bulky water for production, she said a number of irrigation schemes have been improved and water storage capacity increased from 38.86 million m3 in June 2017 to 39.32 million m3 in June 2018.

She said the country has invested in infrastructural development to spur industrial revolution that will make Uganda a modern state by 2040. The investment in Hydropower dams at Karuma, Isimba, Bujagali and road networks are pointers to this vision of building a modern state, she said.  “Tororo which was once a quiet town is now becoming an active industrial hub hosting many cement factories, a multibillion phosphate plant at Sukulu among others,” she said.

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