Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee of Parliament Eziat Kassiano Wadri has warned the President Yoweri Museveni and his ministers to desist from pledging many things which cannot be fulfilled in time.
Mr Wadri who led a team of MPs on this committee was addressing Jinja District Councilors during the legislators’ field work trip to Jinja to follow up government pledges in the district.
In a report which was read by the district Chief Administrative officer of Jinja Olive Hope Nakyanzi, it was discovered that over 20 pledges which were made by the Fountain of Honor over the years are yet to be
fulfilled.
The unfulfilled pledges by the president worthy noting include the construction of Napier and Ambercourt markets, upgrade of Budondo Matuumu road to tarmac and construction of Kaguta Memorial Technical School in Buwagi Budondo.
Others include compensation of Lakwena war victims and construction of a school in Busedde Sub County, extending financial support to bomb victims of Mango Bar incident among others.
It is against this background that committee members were overwhelmed with the unfulfilled pledges in Jinja district which prompted the committee Chairperson Kassiano Wadri to ask the President to always be mindful of the capacity of the national treasury while making pledges.
“Such pledges will either not be realized or drain the national treasury in the name of protecting the image of the president as the economy staggers” he said.
According to Meddy Mbetyo, the district councilor for Jinja central division, the public keeps accusing them of failing to follow-up on such pledges yet sometimes the president makes them unrealistically.
“Most of the pledges are political gimmicks aimed at hoodwinking voters to vote for him and his government without considering the possibility of fulfilling them in the said period of time and as long as Uganda’s politics is based on such unthought-of bits, expect more such pledges” he said.