President Museveni hails Catholic Church's fight against poverty

MUBENDE - President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has expressed gratitude to the Catholic Church for what he described as an active role in combating poverty and promoting socio-economic development. 

According to the President, it is important to integrate spiritual guidance with practical efforts to uplift communities economically.

“I'm happy to see that the priest is walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, whose mission had four dimensions: to preach the gospel, heal the sick, feed the hungry, and himself worked in the carpentry. I have seen the projects including coffee, cows, pigs, and other areas where they help our people. I will help them too,” Museveni said.

President Museveni, who is on a wealth creation regional tour of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in Greater Mubende, made the remarks on Tuesday, 15th April 2025, at Busunju Parish, Busunju Town Council.

He made the remarks on Tuesday, April 15th, after inspecting business projects run by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Kiyemba, the parish priest of St. Joseph - Busunju.
Rev. Fr. Kiyemba has several enterprises, which include: seven dairy cows, four of which produce  25 liters per day.

Of these, he sells  22 liters per day, earning sh35,200, hence Shs 1,056,000 per month, translating to sh12,672,000 per year.

The 12 pigs give him sh5,000,000 per year, and a Robusta coffee 6.8 acres, which gives him sh7,800,000 per harvest.

A release from the Presidential Press Unit (PPU) indicates that after inspection of the projects, President Museveni underscored the critical role of religious institutions in Uganda's socio-economic transformation and in enhancing the well-being of all citizens.

“I will give the parish enterprises sh100 million. I'll also give another sh500 million towards the completion of this church, and a tractor,” announced Museveni, attracting applause. 

He also pledged a bus to St.  Francis school in the same locality.  President Museveni also gave the LC1 chairperson sh9 million plus another sh5 million to upgrade the village sports grounds.

President  Museveni also visited former minister Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi’s coffee farm and nursery bed in Busunju, Mityana District.

During the tour,  the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja reported that the challenges in the area include school dropouts. 

“This problem is brought about by the confusion of the school administration and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) committees. All children should have free education in government schools. We are going to launch a fresh campaign to handle that issue," Museveni responded.

According to the 2024 National Housing and Population Census preliminary results, the subregion has a population of 1,701,147, with approximately 1,020,688 being of school-going age.

The Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, informed the President that the PDM has been well embraced, and more resources should be injected to benefit more people, owing to the higher demand.

“We thank you for monitoring this PDM program. This shows the importance and the commitment you attach to this life-changing project,”  Nabakooba said, adding that the district encourages PDM beneficiaries to have enterprises such as poultry, cows for dairy, and coffee for easy marketing.

She listed the infrastructure needs to include tarmacking of key roads in the district, such as Mityana-Busunju, Manyi-Banda, and Bulera-Kalangalo to Bukuya, among others.
Dignitaries at the tour include: the government's Chief Whip, Hon. Hamson Obua Denis; Minister of State for Investment and Privatisation, Evelyn Anite; Members of Parliament; and religious leaders from Busunju.

President Museveni is in the Greater Mubende region to assess the progress and impact of the Parish Development Model.

Greater Mubende is located in the central region of Uganda and comprises seven local governments: Kassanda, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Mityana, Mubende, Mityana Municipality, and Mubende Municipality.

President Museveni kicked off the Greater Mubende Wealth Creation Tour in Kyankwanzi early Tuesday.

The Parish Development Model is a transformative initiative launched by the government to eradicate poverty by empowering communities at the grassroots level.
PDM, Uganda’s flagship anti-poverty campaign, aims at transforming Uganda’s economy from subsistence-based livelihoods to commercial agriculture.

The PDM secretariat records show that a total of Shs19,286,250,000 was sent to Mityana district between the 2021/2022 to 2024/2025 financial years, and so far, a total of sh15,496,250,000 has been disbursed among the 75 registered PDM SACCOs in the district, which accounts for 80%  Although about 15,560 households have been reached, a total of sh3,790,000,000 is yet to be disbursed.

On the other hand, Mityana municipality, with 15 registered PDM SACCO, has so far received sh3,857,250,000 between the 2021/2022 to 2024/2025 financial years, and sh3,103,274,000 has been disbursed, which accounts for 80 percent, leaving a balance of sh753,976,000. 

Several 3,113 households have benefited in the Mityana municipality.