By Jumah Kakomo
Hero’s day is celebrated on 9th June in Uganda, and this year’s ceremonial activity will be marked at Gomba district under the theme “hail our heroes; a secure Uganda is now a reality”.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday at party headquarters Kampala, the party spokesperson Arach Oyat Sharon revealed that when they reflect back and try to project the future, there is still a long way to go which contradicts with the theme of the day.
She highlighted that a secure Uganda cannot be a reality when citizens are still limping in poverty; the social welfare programs like Emyooga and Operation Wealth Creation among others have failed. The Youth Livelihood Program (YLP) for the youths is a total mess. Adding that it’s their hope that the ongoing Parish Development Model (PDM) will achieve its intended purpose.
She added that the industrial unrest is the order of the day and currently some of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) workers are on strike. Social services like education and health are on a high decline. The unfair taxation policies are over burdening the business community and contributing to the collapse of some businesses amid this weak economy.
“As a country, we need to refocus and place the interests of the citizens of Uganda at heart. Facilitate effectively and establish more schools and hospitals as well as ensuring equal access to opportunities. That is when a secure Uganda can be a reality as opposed to what is at hand today.” Said Arach
She pointed out the Luwero triangle as known before, which comprised of the old districts of Mpigi, Mubende and Luwero as a potentially a very rich agricultural belt but as of now, farmers are faced with challenges of marketing their produce and access to affordable loans to facilitate their business is a big problem across the country.
“The highly promised Agro-processing industries are still lagging behind. The poor road network is another obstacle. Those which are built and being rehabilitated are substandard,” Sharon stated.
”This calls for more efforts to improve on the movement of people and their goods,” Sharon added.
The party head of media and communications Faizo Muzeyi said there is massive unemployment as a result of the youth bulge which has forced citizens to look for employment in Middle East states under unclear terms of service that have landed the majority of the people in employment disputes.
He called for modifications in the education system to focus on producing job creators rather than job seekers.
“We need to skill our youths in practical work and position them as the vanguard of our socio-economic development,” Mezeyi said.
According to Muzeyi, the political journey is still very much bumpy saying as 2026 comes closer, they are yet to see the implementation of the urgently needed electoral reforms as recommended by both the Supreme Court and other relevant stakeholders. Which he says makes it hard to carry out political programs as they strive to level the democratic space. The Public Order Management Act (POMA) is still a challenge towards holding political meetings and rallies due to its misinterpretation.
“This should be given utmost attention in a bid to have peaceful campaigns and elections. The delayed women’s council, LC I and LC II elections are yet to be conducted. This is unfair and requires political Parties more time to crisscross the country and prepare our electorate,” Muzeyi stated.
He added that there is a need to come together and work for a common cause and promote the interests of the people, then they will have proudly achieved the key objectives of the theme for the ‘Heroes Day’ that implores the public to “hail our heroes; a secure Uganda is now reality”.
