People’s opinions on Museveni’s PDM Kampala tour this week

14 July 2025, 7:49 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

President Yoweri Museveni has today embarked on a regional monitoring tour of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in Kampala district. The president began his tour at Busega Market, where he met with several traders. The tour is expected to last five days, corresponding to the five divisions of the district.

Museveni thanked the people of Busega Market for their warm welcome and commended them for actively participating in government programmes, urging them to continue doing so if they wish to overcome poverty. It is noted that Museveni has been meeting various communities across the country to monitor how they have benefited from the PDM and other government initiatives, which are designed to help lift them out of poverty.

In light of this, several leaders in Kampala have shared their views on Museveni’s tour. Speaking to journalists in Kampala, Menton Salim, coordinator of Seven Hills—one of the city’s cleaning associations—thanked the president for his visionary leadership and for enabling the people of Kampala to benefit from government programmes.

“I am grateful that the president is finally in Kampala. We have been cleaning this city since we were given this responsibility, and our lives have changed because we can now earn a living and support our families,” he said.

Menton also urged the people of Kampala to vote for Members of Parliament who will effectively engage with the president and advocate for their communities. “People of Kampala should wake up and vote for President Museveni and members of the National Resistance Movement because they are the ones who can meet the president and raise the issues facing their areas. In 2021, Ugandans voted out of anger and chose leaders who have been unable to help them. Now, in 2026, they should change course and give Kampala to the ruling party to see if there will be change. For us, Museveni has promised to boost our SACCOs with over one billion shillings, so there is little else we need from the president because he has already provided what we wanted and we are awaiting the fulfilment of his promises,” Menton added.

Additionally, the national chairman of the Bodaboda Union, Mawejje Frank, expressed his gratitude to the president for considering the welfare of Bodaboda riders.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the president for always advocating for Bodaboda riders. We have faced many challenges, but the president has supported us in various ways, including advising us on how to operate. We, the people in this industry, wish to reaffirm our commitment to the president and assure him of our support in 2026. Recently, there were attempts to terminate our work through the current digital system, but we thank the president for standing up for us. Since launching this union in January this year, we have achieved significant milestones, including establishing regional offices and setting up functional structures. We have also ensured that riders can access Bodabodas at affordable prices. Tomorrow, the 15th, we will distribute about 500 electronic Bodabodas from Spiro, and the beneficiaries will be able to pay in instalments,” he said.

Meanwhile, the vice chairman of the Bumonde Traders Association in Kisenyi, Kampala, Njumba Samuel, said that as traders dealing in Irish potatoes, they also wish to meet the president to express their concerns.

“As people involved in this business, we have been following the president’s tours, but unfortunately, we have not yet had the opportunity to meet him and explain the challenges we face in this industry, which employs hundreds of people across the country. We therefore urge the relevant authorities to consider the Irish potato traders, as there are regional issues that only the president can resolve. If the president does not receive information directly from us on the ground, it becomes difficult for him to obtain reliable insights, since we are the ones involved in the business,” he said.