Despite President Yoweri Museveni's assurances on Sunday night, tension remained high among the public two days after the gruesome murder of former Buyende District Police Commander Muhammad Kirumira in Bulenga Wakiso district. The president directed the recruitment of 24,000 Local Defense Units (LDU s) to help the police and the UPDF in enhancing security.
Some Members of Parliament, analysts and economists were pessimistic about the effectiveness of the LDUs. “I think they can do well in cattle grazing areas, they can stop cattle thefts. But stopping these murders which are well planned by these sophisticated people I think the president has missed a point.” Said, Hon. Medard Ssegona – MP, Busiro East.
“If you already have intelligence institutions that are on the ground and they are not doing well. And you want to add another that is actually not guaranteed on a clear way of funding, you know our things here in Uganda.” Said, Hon. Gideon Onyango – MP, Samia. for 4 hours let me tell you he was saying nothing useful. If you ask my other people the Ugandans, I didn't see anything new and I didn't see anything useful in that statement except provoking us." Said, Miria Matembe – Women Rights Activist.
However, NRM members of parliament said Museveni was spot on in addressing the current security situation. “They add something to the community because I don’t think that it was a wasteful Force but it’s a complimentary sort of Force to embattle with insecurity internally here.” Said, Hon. James Kakooza – MP, Kabula County. "If we happen to give them enough support, if we happen to facilitate them in time, automatically the information is going to be got in time." Said, Hon. Stephen Kangwagye – MP, Bukanga County.
In his address, the president also noted that Uganda was ready for an economic takeoff after attaining tremendous growth in the infrastructure and the energy sector. But Economic Analyst Ramathan Ggoobi differed with the president and argued that Uganda was still short of the indicators of economic takeoff including only having a GDP per capita 1,050 dollars, reduction in fatality rates and a stable political environment. “And for you to have the economics to work you need a secure political environment, certain that you can predict certain things. Today, if somebody asked any Ugandan, where do you see the politics of Uganda 10 years from now? What answer would a Ugandan give honestly?” Said, Ramathan Ggoobi – Economic Analyst.
Ggoobi further contained that random interventions of the youths unemployment like the president's latest initiatives in Kampala and Wakiso will not yield tangible results. “The government should be focusing on policy, not on piecemeal interventions. So the president thinks that when he helps a few young ladies they graduate in a certain vocational institution then Uganda is on the move. No, there are so many thousands actually millions of others whom he hasn’t met and he will never meet. But what is the policy to meet them?” Said, Ramathan Ggoobi – Economic Analyst.
