Ndyomugyenyi Roland Bish commonly known as Uncle Bish was on 14th day
of January 2021 elected the new Member of Parliament (MP) for Rukiga
Constituency in Rukiga District. He won with an overwhelming support
as an independent candidate, but how much do you know about the new
hard working legislator?
Roland was born to Alice and Eli Nathan Kahene on 5th August 1977. He
is a teacher, Certified Chartered Accountant, International Auditor,
Risk Management Expert, Businessman, Development Practitioner, Mentor,
community servant and mobilizer, family man and a God fearing as well
as a politician.
Roland who is from the Beinika sub clan, Abeitira clan is married to
Doreen Uwimana Sanyu, a daughter of Basigi clan.
Born and raised from Ryabirengye, Nyakasiru, Bukinda Rukiga, Roland
started his primary education from Nyabirerema Primary School, went to
Bukinda SS and Rwamanyonyi SSS for O level and later joined St. Paul’s
SS Bukinda where he completed his A’level. He did a Diploma in
Education at National Teachers’ College Kabale from 1998 to 2000.
He then joined Makerere University Kampala where he got a first class
Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies topping the 2004 DS class.
After graduating, Roland was taken up by Ernst & Young-a renown
auditing firm in Uganda and the world and was able to complete his
ACCA in a record of two years and was among the best students in the
2009 June sitting in the whole country.
Along the way, Roland has done Masters in Business Administration at
Herriot Watt University and had certifications in various fields
including certified Risk Based Auditor, Institute of Internal
Auditors, and Advanced Auditing from London corporates training among
very many others.
Roland has also worked with Barclays Bank, Uganda Road Fund and Nile
Basin Initiative, a World Bank funded project where he was the
Regional Head of Internal Audit.
Roland has served as:
Chairman School Council at Rwamanyonyi SS
Chairman Rukiga Students Association at Makerere University
Patron Kabale Makerere University students association
Treasurer General Homeboyz Association
Chairman Wandugu Foundation
Chairman Ryabirengye Kampala Residents Association
Promoter, St Paul SS Bukinda
Member Development Committee, Nyabirerema Archdeaconry
Chairman, Health and Sanitation, Ryabirengye COU
Roland passionate about community service and development and was at
the forefront of introducing tea development in Kigezi region, a
project that employed so many people in Rukiga.
He has also been at the helm of improving academic performance in
schools in Rukiga by providing scholastic materials to candidates on
top of motivation talks to them, specifically the good performance of
students at St Paul SS Bukinda over the years.
What he intends to do as a Member of Parliament?
The MP elect has listed areas of main focus while in parliament and
these will be;
Reduction of Poverty
As an independent, he and other colleagues shall fight poverty through
creating a platform of the poor so as the eradicate poverty.
“This shall be done through our organizations for the poor and
vulnerable who will interact with the people on their needs like food
shelter medical care and many others,” he added.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the engine of Rukiga’s economic growth and the largest
employer and Roland’s highest priority is to increase farmer’s income
and rural development. The main cash crops grown in Rukiga are coffee
and tea and the traditionally grown food crops are potatoes, beans,
onions and sorghum. The production of the above crops is affected by
over reliance on traditional farming methods, use of low fielding
varieties, post-harvest losses, small farm sizes, limited access to
finance and lastly presence of low market levels.
Health
Rukiga needs a hospitable care system that is universally accessible,
affordable effective and drastically reduces the out of pocket
spending on health.
Elderly
Most of the elderly are retired civil servants especially from the
government institutions have been denied their pension and sometimes
delayed it. The government has failed to follow up on their servants
however on their behalf, the MP elect said he will make sure that they
are given their pension in time and taken care of by the responsible
bodies.
Education
Bish believes that education is the most important and powerful tool
for the advancement of the nation and the most potent weapon to fight
poverty. Education in Rukiga needs to be revitalized and reorganized
to make future generations proud of their culture, heritage, history
and also creating confidence in the vitally of Rukiga.
“Every effort shall be made to ensure equality of opportunity access
and success to all learners; creating a harmonious and cohesive
egalitarian society that practices democratic values. Education should
not only lead to employability but also job creation and
entrepreneurship by introducing a national multi skills orientation”.
Youth Empowerment and Music
The future of Uganda lies in the youngsters of our society, with their
potential, Roland considers the youth as the most productive asset of
the nation who can make it possible for our economy to achieve our
intended double digit growth.
Women Empowerment
Mothers are soul builders of our nation; Roland and his team recognize
the role of women in the development of the society and growth of the
nation and remain committed to give a high priority to women’s
empowerment and welfare. The MP said there is need for women’s
security as a precondition to women empowerment.
Works and Transportation
Considering the poor roads network in Rukiga and its implication on
the cost of doing business and the mobility of people and produce,
Roland will work and fast track the process of tarmacking all roads
proposed by government. In addition, he will lobby for Rukiga to share
on the proposed community access and district roads that are to be
implemented in the next 5 years.
Water & Sanitation
Water is essential for both home use and industrial production. Bish
said he will collaborate with the relevant authorities to extend water
supply where needed so as to ensure the safety of children going to
wells or boreholes. “I will lobby to make sure the Rukiga benefits
from the support of rural water supply project being implemented by
the government”.
Sports
Hon. Roland and his team recognize the importance of sports in Rukiga
and for all age groups, sports have a direct relation to fitness, good
health and productivity. Rukiga has not fared well in sports and needs
investment in promotion of all sports in an organized manner.
Energy/Electricity
The MP will ensure every house has access to electricity by 2026 by
encouraging and developing projects to enable create an enabling
environment best on international practices to both attract private
and speed up the delivery of energy projects for the benefit of Rukiga
people.
“I believe with all my experience in my past leaderships, I can lead
Rukiga with the right agenda. I am not promising the impossible, I
have done my research thus my promises are viable. I should say that
the chance has come for you to bring a change and the power is in your
hands. So “lets fix it”, he concluded.
It is indeed a privilege to share my thoughts with you the citizens of
Rukiga district on our grand vision and mission to move our district’s
socio economic agenda forward through delivering a strong, prosperous
economic and a secure modern society thus the theme “lets fix it”,
Tukitereze.
Roland has promised to be an effective and transformational leader
ensuring efficiency at every level of government so that every citizen
as a Ugandan especially in Rukiga has a voice and can directly benefit
from any development agenda. The waste of resources of the state
through corruption shall be fought with vigour and determination.
“There should be no limit to what we and our generation can achieve.
It’s our time to fix, redirect the socio economic agenda for ourselves
and successive generations to come. Be the change you want and let us
fix and work together towards the noble ideas that can move our Rukiga
forward from now and tomorrow,” Roland said.
Rukiga County
Rukiga County is located in Rukiga District which is composed of the 4
sub-counties of Bukinda, Kamwezi, Kashambya, Rwamucuucu and completes
the list of administrative subdivisions in Rukiga. Rukiga is bordered
by Ntungamo District to the east, the Republic of Rwanda to the
southeast, Kabale District to the southwest, Rubanda District to the
northwest and Rukungiri District to the north. The district is
predominantly rural with Muhanga as the largest town, other small
urban Centers include Mparo, Bukinda, Kamwezi, Kangondo, Sindi,
Rushebeya, Kashumuuruzi, Kitunga and Kantare. The county has a
population of about 100,726 people majority of whom are engaged in
agriculture.