Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | President Yoweri Museveni has pledged 1.2 billion Shillings to support ghetto SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations) within the Kampala Metropolitan Area. This announcement was made during a meeting with ghetto leaders held at State House Entebbe on Wednesday 31, July 2024.
The gathering included 100 youth leaders representing the 12 ghetto SACCOs spread across Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono. The SACCOs cater to various communities, including residents from Rubaga Kakeeka Zone, Kasangati Ghetto Community, Kampala Central Division, Nakawa Division, Makindye East, Kawempe South, Makindye West, Kawempe North, Mukono Industrial, Kasokoso, Nansana Division, and Masajja Para Zone in Makindye.
In line with a previous commitment made during a meeting at Kololo Independence Grounds last year, President Museveni allocated 100 million Shillings to each of the 12 ghetto SACCOs. This financial support aims to bolster economic opportunities and development within these communities.
“From the Shs100 million you can do something for yourselves. In the villages, we’re encouraging people into commercial farming. It’s good that you have a base here in the town where you have small businesses, artisanship, services like salons, and others. Those are areas you should participate in within your groups,” President Museveni said.
During the meeting, the President underscored the role of the ghetto people in the liberation of Uganda.
“What you call ghetto people, in the 1950s used to be called “Abawejere” and they were centered around Katwe. When Uganda was fighting for Independence, much of the activities were around Katwe and I think the first offices of the Uganda National Congress were located in Katwe and that is where I think Dr. I.K Musaazi, Dr Barnabas Kunuka and others operated from. Even Augustino Kamya who organised the boycott of Indian goods in 1958 was from Katwe,” Mr. Museveni said.
“I linked up with the ghetto in 1968. I was there, Katwe is my place. I was not a ghetto boy myself; my background was in the villages with farmers. That is where I came from to go to university, but we wanted to link up with the “Bawejere”. The head of the abawejere at that time was Abbas Kibazo whom they used to call “Ssabawejere” so I linked up with them. So, this story of saying this is my first time to link up with the ghetto is not true,” he added.
President Yoweri Museveni recounted the events following former President Idi Amin’s coup announcement on January 25, 1971. Museveni noted that in response to Amin’s seizure of power, former students, alongside the Abawejere group, took a stand against him. Their motivation was driven by a commitment to addressing the issues facing the people and striving for a just resolution.
“We had and still have a program of the prosperity of the people and Idi Amin could not understand that. Of course, we had problems with Obote, but we were at least able to talk to him. That is why we had not taken the route of fighting. On the 27th of January 1971, I left to fight Amin, so he ruled me for only 2 days. I left with two people from Kampala; Abbas Kibazo and Zubair Bakari and when we went to Mbarara, the people there added some other two chiefs. The five of us entered Tanzania where we met Mwalimu Nyerere and that’s how the fight against Idi Amin started. All the time when we were fighting Idi Amin, I used to come to Kampala and my contacts were mainly these bawejere,” Mr. Museveni said.
President Museveni reassured ghetto youths that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government is dedicated to serving all Ugandans, emphasizing its focus on people’s interests. He encouraged the youths to hold their leaders accountable and ensure that they receive the benefits intended for them.
Mr. Museveni explained that challenges within ghetto communities began when the educated elite failed to address the needs of the less educated, who also faced issues such as failing to hold their elected representatives accountable. To address these gaps, the NRM government introduced elected positions from Local Council 1 to LC5 and included a female Member of Parliament for each district. This move aimed to supplement the traditional government structures established during the British colonial era and enhance effective governance.
“When we were preparing, I said, you people, to defend the people, we must add another structure, these should be elected by the people themselves so that the people’s delegates are there to monitor and hold the government accountable. That is why we created the LCs and MPs to be elected by you people. As people who have power in your hands, why do you go on to elect useless people?,” he wondered.
President Yoweri Museveni urged ghetto youths to champion the interests of the broader community by advocating for initiatives such as free education and overall prosperity. He also encouraged them to support government poverty alleviation efforts, including the Paris Development Model (PDM), to improve their livelihoods.
Mr. Museveni praised the re-engagement with the Ddamulira group, stating that it would help guide the youths in defending public interests. He emphasized the importance of protecting their country and home, advising against involvement in illegal activities like unauthorized protests.
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In response, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, the Minister of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, expressed gratitude to Museveni for his support towards the ghetto communities.
“These people have been trained on how to manage their SACCOs and we are very sure that most of them are now transformed. Those who are yet to transform will also be transformed,” Kabanda said.
Brigadier General Christopher Ddamulira, the Director of Crime Intelligence and project coordinator, provided an update on the ghetto project launched in March 2022. He shared that he and his team have been diligently working on the initiative under the guidance of Minister Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and State House Comptroller Jane Barekye.
“Previously, these ghetto youth did not have leadership but one thing which we did was to create leadership from the youth themselves, so we conducted elections through which we got leaders at zone, parish and division level,” Ddamulira said.
Brigadier General Christopher Ddamulira highlighted that the ghetto project has begun to show positive results. He reported a significant reduction in criminal activity across Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono as a direct outcome of the intervention.
“Even if you look at the Police report that we issue every year, the last report indicated that the crime level has gone down but also in political violence, these are the people that the politicians have always used to confuse Kampala because they felt they didn’t have a stake in what’s happening in the country. All those crimes have been reduced. Even recently during the planned march to Parliament, we didn’t register a singer ghetto youth getting involved in those things,” Ddamulira said.
