Enough is enough: Museveni warns underperforming ministers

President Yoweri Museveni has warned yet-to-be-appointed cabinet officials that they face dismissal if they fail to use their dockets to help elevate citizens out of poverty.
 
Speaking shortly after the election of Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth as speaker and Thomas Tayebwa as deputy speaker of the 12th parliament at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Monday, Museveni said he was no longer prepared to tolerate leaders who pursue positions of authority while neglecting the welfare of the people they represent. 

“Enough is enough,” Museveni declared, saying he was now in a “very bad mood” over continued poverty in communities despite billions invested in government programs. 

 The President argued that after decades of introducing wealth-creation initiatives ranging from Entandikwa and Operation Wealth Creation to the Parish Development Model (PDM), leaders can no longer claim that they lack tools to transform the lives of their constituents.

“In the past, I’ve been polite. I talk, talk as if I’m a preacher like John the Baptist. Please, please, please. But now, as President of Uganda and chairman of the NRM, I will be very, very rough with people who want titles but don’t want to help, who betray the people they lead,” he said. 

Museveni pointed to the Parish Development Model (PDM) as evidence that government has already provided the resources needed to fight poverty. According to the President, each parish now has access to hundreds of millions of shillings in revolving funds intended to support household income generation. 

He warned ministers that their performance would increasingly be judged by the economic conditions of the people they represent.

“If I come to your area and I find that you have not helped your people, I will sack you,” Museveni said. “Why should I care about leaders who don’t care about their own people?”

The President also criticized what he described as misplaced priorities among some leaders, questioning why politicians spend time celebrating European football clubs while communities around them remain poor. 

“How can you be celebrating European clubs when your people don’t have jobs and are living in poverty?” he asked, in an apparent reference to recent celebrations by supporters of English football club Arsenal.  

Throughout his speech, Museveni repeatedly highlighted examples of beneficiaries of government programs who had used small amounts of capital to establish profitable agricultural enterprises, arguing that poverty can be defeated if leaders actively mobilize communities to participate in government initiatives. 

Although Museveni did not mention former speaker Anita Annet Among by name, his comments are likely to fuel speculation about whether they were directed at some of the senior leaders who have recently faced public criticism. 

Among withdrew from the race for speaker before the opening of the 12th parliament, ending months of uncertainty surrounding her political future. Her tenure was overshadowed by growing public scrutiny of parliament’s expenditure, issues that contributed to a broader debate about accountability in government. 

Museveni’s repeated emphasis on leaders seeking “titles” without serving the people, as well as his warning that he would no longer shield underperforming officials from consequences, may be interpreted by some observers as part of a wider message to the political establishment, including those who have recently faced reputational challenges.

However, there is no direct evidence from the speech that the President was specifically targeting Among. His remarks were framed broadly around ministers, members of parliament and NRM leaders whom he accused of failing to ensure that government programs reach intended beneficiaries.

Whether that tougher stance translates into actual dismissals remains to be seen.

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المصدر: The Observer (Uganda)