The Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party presidential candidate, Maj Gen (Rtd) Mugisha Muntu, has stated that President Yoweri Museveni cannot effectively fight corruption because those involved in it are key to his regime’s survival.
Muntu made the remarks while addressing a campaign rally in Butebo District, emphasising that the regime’s reliance on corrupt individuals to maintain power undermines its ability to tackle graft.
“Change is to take you forward, Gen Museveni can no longer take you forward because fighting corruption and arresting the corrupt won’t be possible because they are the very people who support him. The corrupt know he wants power, he also knows they want money; he leaves them to steal so that they also support him to keep in power, and that’s how they keep fooling you,” he said.
Gen Muntu said that there are many development and empowerment initiatives that would transform the lives of all Ugandans, but unfortunately, these are less known or completely unknown by citizens because the corrupt want to steal everything and remain untouched.
“Initiatives like PDM would be good, but they are limited to a small amount, a farmer would need for example to purchase a milling machine, rice sorting machine, or a cooking oil squeezing machine but this PDM shs1 million is very little,” he said.
He added, “Even the sensible empowerment funds available are not known to citizens, there is for example money called Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) which is at an interest rate of 12% but have passed through several districts and farmers don’t know about it because the corrupt intend to steal such funds.”
A report by the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG) revealed that Uganda loses up to shs9.1 trillion to corruption annually. The same report says the figures could be higher, except some of the areas investigated did not have data to quantify the costs.
Gen Muntu decried that the most underdeveloped areas like Butebo are the lead supporters of President Museveni, and yet he has long failed to develop such areas.
“The less developed areas like Karamoja, Kisoro, Bundibugyo and you here in Butebo, you are the lead supporters of Gen Museveni, what happened?” asked Muntu.
He told Butebo voters that much as President Museveni has always said the ballot cannot take him out of power, they should strongly come out to vote against him.
“Buganda decided and changed, I was in FDC and while there we at a time captured Teso, Acholi, and some parts of the west, he sees the ballot as a mere paper but for as long as you decide like Buganda, he will go,” he said.