The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has implored the government to fulfil the pledges to rehabilitate and reconstruct Luwero triangle, Teso, Acholi, Lango and West Nile sub-regions as Uganda celebrates the 59th independence anniversary.
Uganda will commemorate her 59th Independence Day Anniversary on Saturday October 9, 2021 at Kololo Ceremonial.
This year’s theme is, “celebrating our 59th Independence Day as we secure our future through national mindset change”.
Speaking to the media in Kampala, Jimmy Akena the UPC President explained that livelihood of people in these districts depended on cattle culture which secured their past, present and future.
“The government pledged to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Luwero triangle, Teso subregion, Acholi subregion, Lango subregion and West Nile. The economies of our people rotated around Cattle culture which secured their past, present and future,” he said.
Akena said that cattle defined the day-to-day life of these people in the area because it is a cornerstone of wealth, an engine of agricultural revolution through ox-plough, and usage of cow-dung as organic fertilizer.
Akena called for restoration of cattle stocks to enhance development and prosperity in the affected districts.
He also called for conscious diversification from coffee, cotton and copper to include tourism, tobacco and tea.
“Back to our Independence times, the country was modelled on 3 Cs; coffee, Cotton, and copper that laid a foundation for modernized Uganda especially with the boom periods of the 1960s. But still, it was felt that our “future” needs to be more secured with consolidation of the 3 Cs and conscious diversification to 3 Ts; Tourism, Tobacco and Tea,” he said.
Akena said that these had backward and forward linkages, for instance, he said the rural economies especially of out growers prospered very well as there was an easy process of production and marketing of any agricultural produce.
He stated that the services of extension workers were readily available and the specialized marketing boards like; Coffee Marketing Board (CMB), Lint Marketing Board (LMB), Produce Marketing Board (PMB), and Uganda Tea Authority (UTA) were on move and ensuring the economy thrives.