Meanwhile, Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajat Fatuma Nabitaka Ndisaba advised PDM beneficiaries to endeavour to station themselves in centres where they can exhibit their gratitude to the President for his gesture of getting them out of poverty.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is scheduled to conduct a 3-day monitoring round in the Greater Mukono region beginning with Buvuma tomorrow on June 19, 2025. The region comprises Mukono, Buikwe, Buvuma and Kayunga districts.
Buvuma Member of Parliament, Robert Migadde Ndugwa says that the islanders are anxiously awaiting the president, hopeful that he will address their burning desires, top of which include compensation of over 5,000 bibanja holders who surrendered their plots to the Malaysian BIDCO palm oil growing and production company but to date remain unpaid.
The other pertinent issue, Migadde highlighted in Buvuma islands is the inadequate parish development model (PDM) releases that can hardly match the high costs of fishing nets, outboard engines and other fishing gears.
During the June 4, ‘baraza’ (public dialogue)held at Kitamiiro landing site in Buvuma town council and facilitated by the Deputy Resident District Commissioner Patrick Mubiru and the Ssezibwa Region Police Commander (RPC) Jaffer Magezi, the islanders variously complained over illegal vacations, mistreatment at sea by the UPDF, and extortion by police.
Sebastian Ndugwa of Maggyo village in Nairambi sub-county, said that many bibanja holders were left in camps after the palm oil growing took over their land before compensation.
“It’s over six years when people’s land was taken over by the company which planted palm oil plants on it before their compensation. They have started yielding from the palm oil plants when the owners are in the camps starving with their children. We want the president to take a stand and ensure that people are paid,” Ndugwa said.
In an interview on Wednesday, MP Migadde regretted that the President’s timetable for tomorrow does not have a slot for a public rally in Buvuma, which may deny the islanders an opportunity to express their issues with the president.
“Fishing is a major income generating activity in the islands; the president has for long talked about it but has not given us a concrete response on the islanders’ outcry. At least one fishing boat requires over sh100m when it includes fishing nets, a boat, an engine and other equipment. So you find that we need a specifically treated PDM arrangement in the islands”, Migadde said.
He advised islanders to line up along the road to welcome the President especially at specific points like Kabugombe and at Mzee Lukoma’s place, hoping that the President may be touched and make a last minute decision for an abrupt stopover.
Meanwhile, Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajat Fatuma Nabitaka Ndisaba advised PDM beneficiaries to endeavour to station themselves in centres where they can exhibit their gratitude to the President for his gesture of getting them out of poverty.
She disclosed that learners in the East Mengo Industrial Hub and Ahmed Sseguya Vocational Training centre in Kayunga which will be launched by the President on Friday will showcase their products, and added that a SACCO has been formed to help them boost personal enterprises through simple loans.
Ndisaba also disclosed that the East Mengo Industrial hub will benefit several districts in the central region. She urged religious, cultural and traditional leaders, NRM flag bearers and business community members to endeavour to attend the leaders’ meeting to be held at Mukono Boarding Primary School also on Friday.
On claims of sh1m PDM money being too little, Ndisaba clarified that many beneficiaries countrywide who have diligently handled that money have made drastic steps forward, and added that a better option is stepping up the amount of releases to include more beneficiaries.
In his comment, the NRM chairman for Mukono district, Haji Harunah Ssemakula said the president is visiting to establish whether the billions of shillings injected in the district have made an impact.
Ssemakula pledged that NRM supporters are going to apologize to the president for having lost the 2021 elections to the opposition, and show him that this is going to change in 2026.
He distanced himself from PDM shortcomings saying he is a new leader in the office, but swore to effect changes that will end up in ironing out all anomalies pertaining to handling of the PDM programme.
Mukono district NRM publicist Hakim Kyeswa said the president’s visit is a blessing for putting right what went wrong, and for showing the President that Mukono is changing all mistakes of the past. “As Mukono party leaders, we are bent on making a difference, that is why we are painting the town yellow”, he said.