Empowerment Drive In Kawempe: ONC’s Namyalo, Kampala Minister Support Ghetto Youths With Startup Capital

The Office of the National Chairman Manager, Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye, in collaboration with Kampala’s Minister for Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, took significant steps on Thursday to extend President Museveni’s Wealth Creation campaign into the Ghettos of Kawempe Division. This initiative saw thousands of Bazzukulu receiving various startup capital items aimed at fostering self-sufficiency.

During the event, which took place at the Kawempe Cooperative Growers Grounds in Nabukalu Zone, Hajjat Namyalo, alongside Markh Investments led by Ms. Maria Namusoke, distributed four brand new motorcycles to Ghetto Saccos, among other wealth creation tools. This effort is part of a broader strategy to fulfill the NRM Manifesto and promote Museveni’s vision of socio-economic transformation to the grassroots.

Hajjat Namyalo expressed her awareness of the challenges faced by those in the Ghettos, emphasizing the need to engage with the community to understand their obstacles. She highlighted the importance of bringing these individuals into the economic fold, aligning with President Museveni’s mission for inclusive growth and empowerment.

“We have a total number of 368,118 people in these Ghettos who are left out of the government programs, who is going to cater for all those people? That’s why we decided to come and meet them, find out their challenges, why are they not in the SACCOs, and how are they going to be brought on board to be part,” Namyalo remarked.

“We decided to come here to help these people get something to do. It is very inspiring to hear people who received items from our empowerment testify how their lives changed,” she said in response to one beneficiary of a popcorn machine in Bwaise who said he has now bought two more machines and employs more youths in his area.

The ONC Boss also scoffed at a section of self-seekers and opportunists who pose themselves as Ghetto representatives and get money from the State House, yet, this money doesn’t reach out to the intended beneficiaries at the ground level. She said these same people wanted to sabotage the event because they don’t want the Ghettos to be empowered.

“This is the Office of the National Chairman, I am supposed to move countrywide, I’m not supposed to, I’m supposed to bring people on board to work with, like you see we are working in combination with the Minister for Kampala, Metropolitan, and then we are joined by Markh Investments to ensure that we deliver to the underprivileged. But you self-seekers, you thugs, the mafias, please let us do our work as mandated, as per the constitution, because these are the people who vote for Museveni,” Namyalo noted.

“Ghettos are for all, ghettos are for all, and if Jajja’s Bazzukulu are being left out, we can’t sit down and see, we can’t sit down seeing the majority left out. These are the people who believe in the system, these are the ones who call for the movement, for His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni” she stressed, adding; “Those who think that they are going to eliminate me, those who think that he (Museveni) is not going to come back to power, Nyoko Transition.”

The Minister for Kampala, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda in her remarks heaped praise on Namyalo for the initiative of empowering Museveni’s Bazzukulu and the mobilization efforts which she said, has revived the ruling party’s support within the central region and across the country. She promised the ghetto youths that she will again reorganize and return with more empowerment focusing on their specific needs which they raised at the function.

“I heard of a story of one beneficiary who has now multiplied from one popcorn machine he got to more than three now, this is a good testimony, and I promise, we will return here in a bigger empowerment so that all of us benefit,” Hajjat Kabanda said, adding that her ministry will also meet up with local leaders in these ghettos to strategize on setting up Ghetto Structures for direct benefit from government programmes such as Emyooga, PDM, among others.

Earlier, the commander of all Ghettos in Kwempe Division, Bulime Farouk aka Kamanda Farouk delivered a rallying outcry to the minister and ONC boss about the issues they are facing as youths, among which was lack of enough support to develop their talents such as singing, boxing, football among others.

He therefore requested the officials to reach out to President Museveni and lobby for them support so that they can also benefit from his never-ending support towards the Bazzukulu. Farouk highlighted one Matovu Livingstone from Kanyanya Ghetto who is seeking for support to go and represent Uganda at the continental boxing games starting October 14th in Congo Brazzaville.

On her part, Kampala City businesswoman Ms Maria Namusoke of Markh Investments thanked the youths for turning up for the empowerment drive and promised to deliver more motorcycles in the next proposed campaign to see more of them develop and enrich their livelihoods.

Some of the beneficiary groups that received the motorcycles included the Kasoro Boys, Kawempe Teri Kuzikiza, and Pentagon, among others. The items given out included Sewing Machines, Hair dryers, Food Packages and Agricultural equipment, among others.