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Museveni Meets His Advisors for the First Time, Advises Them

President Museveni

President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni met his advisors for the first time since he appointed them, and advised them on how to do their work.

Museveni addressed his advisors at a week-long retreat the ministry of presidency organized at the National Leadership Institute (Nali), Kyankwanzi.

Museveni has hundreds of presidential advisors who rarely meet or advise him.

Some of the presidential advisers who attended the retreat at Nali, Kyankwanzi. Photo: Courtesy/PPU

In his address at Nali on December 16, he advised his advisors to strive to clearly understand the ideology of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Understanding of the party’s ideology, Museveni added, would boost implementation of government programs such as those aimed at wealth creation.

The president also emphasized the idea of socio-economic transformation, patriotism and Pan Africanism.

He also tasked them with monitoring of the implementation of government programs.

“As presidential advisors, once you have got this contextual background of where we [NRM] came from, then it is easy for you to find where you can make an input,” lectured Museveni.

“Many of us can actually supervise the work of the RDCs, work with the minister, check some areas, go and talk to the people. You are not the ones implementing but you [have been assigned by the president] to check.”

He also told them they had a role to play in ensuring that Ugandans jump out of poverty.

“To cause social economic transformation, you need two stimuli, education and business. They must learn how to engage in commercial activities,” said Museveni.

“This is a mission of the NRM to change your people and it has achieved something but it could achieve more, when you see the amount of production which is going on, it is big but we can do more.”

The presidential advisors seemed unaware of their roles and responsibilities.

Amelia Kyambadde, the senior presidential advisor on trade and industry, said: “Some of us had forgotten but now we are going to go as warriors from here.”

Singer Mark Bugembe aka Buchman, the presidential adviser on ghetto issues,told his colleagues they don’t have to meet the president everyday.

“The President has been busy and it’s not like I have to see him every so often. But he gets time and calls me to find out what is happening on ground,” said Buchman.

During the retreat, a participant also educated former minister Kyambadde that Mseveni’s ‘Tibuhaburwa’ name doesn’t mean ‘one who can’t be advised.’

Additional Reporting: Courtesy

Samuel Kamugisha

Samuel Kamugisha is a Ugandan journalist, editor, language instructor, poet, fiction and non-fiction writer. A Makerere University graduate of Journalism and Communication with a decade-long experience in news reporting, writing and editing, Kamugisha is Editor at The Pearl Times. Most of his previous work was published by The Observer. When he is not doing journalism work -- which is rare -- Kamugisha will be reading or writing a short story or a poem, or caught up in the writer's block.