President Museveni promises to solve Bunyoro land problems

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has expressed government commitment to solving land problems affecting the oil rich Bunyoro sub region.

Museveni on Monday said government will soon come up with “special” modalities of addressing the continued land grabbing and evictions that have escalated in the region following the oil discovery.

He said his government will pay special attention to the prevailing land problems like how the government solved the land conflict that had erupted between the indigenous Bagungu and the migrant herdsmen commonly known as Balaalo in Buliisa district.

The president said land problems should not blind fold the people to forget the good things the National Resistance movement (NRM) has done for the people of Bunyoro sub region, including the discovery of oil that created opportunities for the people, tarmacked roads, dams, an international airport in Hoima still under construction, electricity distribution, among others.

Museveni however attributed the increasing land conflict to uncontrolled migration to Bunyoro sub region particularly from the war torn countries like South Sudan and DR Congo who he said flock the area because Uganda is peaceful.

He explained that the new techniques that will be employed by his government in solving the land question in Bunyoro will include among others sensitizing people to co-exist with migrants who are legally settling in Bunyoro like what he did in Ankole region.

The President said Bunyoro is currently experiencing a population boom due to people seeking opportunities in the oil and gas industry and those looking for  land to do farming, adding that it is hard to control people from migrating.

“Bakiga have migrated from Kigezi in hordes to Bunyoro to acquire land for farming but there is need to inform you that wealth is not only in agriculture but also in the service industry. Like Banyoro can move to Kigezi and set up hotels to reap from the tourism industry there,” he said.

The president made the remarks on Monday evening at two separate campaign rallies at Kabaale public primary school in Buseruka sub county and Kigorobya Muslim primary school in Kigorobya sub county Hoima district as he drummed up last minute support for Harriet Mugenyi Businge alias baby face, the NRM flag bearer in the Hoima woman MP by- election.

Businge is facing Asinansi Nyakato alias Kamanda of the Forum for Democratic change (FDC) in the hotly contested by-election slated for Thursday this week.

The Hoima woman MP seat fell vacant after Tophace Kaahwa Byagira, the former woman MP opted to represent the newly created Kikuube district that was carved out of Hoima and became operational on July 1,2018.

Museveni introduced Businge to the electorate and urged the people of Hoima to vote for the NRM candidate as a token of appreciation for what NRM government has done in the Bunyoro sub region, adding that the few unresolved issues being raised by the opposition to spread false propaganda about the ruling party are also going to be resolved.

He said government has earmarked sh26b to compensate the affected tobacco farmers who sold their tobacco to continental tobacco company in 2018 but never got paid.

He said the team he sent recently headed by Flora Kiconco, the head of state house legal department has embarked on the verification of the farmers to ensure that payment is soon effected to them.

Businge on her part promised to lobby to ensure that government attends to issues affecting Bunyoro, including the establishment of fully fledged university in Bunyoro, provision of social services, piracy on the lake Albert waters and an affirmative action to empower communities to prepare them and be ready to supply the oil and gas industry.

*****

URN