MARACHA — President Yoweri Museveni told a rally of thousands in Uganda’s West Nile region on Tuesday that his National Resistance Movement party focuses on delivering tangible results rather than seeking “cheap popularity.”
Speaking at Nyadri Urban Secondary School Grounds in Maracha District, Museveni, the NRM’s presidential flagbearer, pointed to the recent connection of West Nile to the national electricity grid as a key achievement.
“For us NRM, we don’t just do things to please people even when things are wrong. That’s cheap popularity,” Museveni said. “We were telling people that power will come here in West Nile but let’s move according to the plan. Now powerful electricity has come.”
He described the 132KV power line from Karuma to Arua as one of the largest energy investments in Northern Uganda, which he said would spur industrialization and agro-processing.
The rally was part of a campaign running under the theme: “Securing Your Future.” Museveni outlined his government’s record on infrastructure and education, pledging to build more schools in underserved parishes and sub-counties within Maracha.
On roads, he promised to work on the routes from Atiak to Adjumani and Moyo, and from Panyimur to Packwach.
Museveni said Uganda is enjoying nationwide peace “for the first time in 500 years,” which he attributed to the NRM’s principles of patriotism and clear ideology.
“This peace was not bought with words, it was built through sacrifice,” he said.
He also highlighted the Parish Development Model (PDM), a government program that provides funds to households, saying Maracha District alone had received 27.9 billion Ugandan shillings (about $7.1 million), reaching more than 30,000 households.
First Lady and Education Minister Janet Museveni thanked the crowd for their support, saying the development in West Nile is a result of their loyalty to the NRM government.
“You have shown the whole country that West Nile stands with the NRM,” she said. “The connection to the national grid, the Parish Development Model, and the new schools being built are proof that this government works for all Ugandans.”
Parliament Speaker Anita Among told supporters that the NRM’s track record is clear.
“When you look at the roads, electricity, PDM funds, and schools in West Nile, you can see real work, not politics of words,” Among said.
According to a district fact sheet, Maracha is now fully connected to the national electricity grid. The district has 62 government primary schools and 7 government secondary schools, with efforts underway to construct more to cover the remaining sub-counties without one.
The event was attended by NRM Central Executive Committee members, Members of Parliament, and religious and cultural leaders.
