Shartsi K Musherure

Today, I had the honour of officiating at the launch of the Office of the Senior Presidential Special Envoy in Charge of Buganda Affairs at Mosa Courts, Nakasero, Kampala. In my address, I conveyed warm greetings from H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda, Gen. (Rtd.) Yoweri Kaguta Museveni; the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Kataaha Museveni; the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande; and the entire staff of the Office of the President. I commended H.E. President @KagutaMuseveni for his foresight in establishing the office to strengthen relations between the Buganda Kingdom and the Central Government, recognising the important role of cultural institutions in promoting national unity, stability and socio-economic transformation. The office, headed by Mr Joseph Mukasa Sewava, is intended to provide a permanent channel for communication, consultation and constructive engagement between Mengo and the Central Government. I emphasised Buganda's significant contribution to Uganda's historical, political and administrative development, noting that the Kingdom's progress is inseparable from the country's overall development. I therefore called upon its leadership and people to actively participate in Uganda's socioeconomic transformation. I tasked Mr Sewava with executing his responsibilities with humility, wisdom, patriotism, and dedication, building trust, maintaining open communication, listening to concerns, and identifying practical areas of cooperation. The office must serve as a bridge for dialogue, reconciliation, and mutual understanding, not as a ceremonial institution. I cited coffee production as an example of how cooperation can deliver tangible results, commending the Buganda Kingdom's "Mwanyi Terimba" campaign for complementing Government initiatives through NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation, the Parish Development Model and the 4-Acre Model. I called for similar collaboration in agriculture, tourism, education, health and enterprise development. I further urged the people of Buganda to embrace Government wealth-creation programmes, including the Parish Development Model, Emyooga, the GROW Project, and the 4-Acre Model. Our shared objective is to move households from subsistence livelihoods into the money economy, empower women, create opportunities for young people and establish sustainable household incomes. I particularly commended the Katikkiro @cpmayiga for his efforts towards improving the historically strained relationship between the Buganda Kingdom and the Central Government. I reaffirmed Government's commitment to consolidating the progress made, emphasising that dialogue, reconciliation and mutual respect must always take precedence over confrontation. I also appreciated the Buganda Kingdom @BugandaKingdom_ for its longstanding hospitality towards Ugandans from other parts of the country who have settled, established businesses and raised families within the Kingdom. I called upon all Ugandans to preserve brotherhood, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, with religious leaders and other stakeholders playing an active role in promoting unity and development. I reminded Ugandans that our common enemy is poverty, not one another, and our common challenge is underdevelopment, not institutional differences. We must therefore work together to address the challenges affecting our people. I congratulated Mr Sewava upon his appointment and reaffirmed Government's commitment to nurturing cordial relations with the Buganda Kingdom based on mutual respect, constructive dialogue and shared national interests. When Buganda prospers, Uganda prospers. When our institutions work together, ordinary Ugandans are the greatest beneficiaries. For God and My Country!