Information minister Frank Tumwebaze has reacted to Col Dr Kizza Besigye’s attack on government’s proposed amendments in the land Act, saying that his arguments were not surprising.
The Minister in an email to Chimpreports dismissed Besigye’s remarks as “irresponsible talk” and an effort to remain relevant in the news.
Besigye at press conference today launched a scathing attack on the proposed reforms in the country’s land laws; which were reportedly endorsed by the recently concluded cabinet retreat in Kyankwanzi.
The reforms seek to include in the law, provisions allowing government to take over and develop privately owned land before the owners are compensated, as a way of speeding up (government) projects.
Besigye today termed this as a ploy by a mafia group in government to grab people’s land.
According to Besigye, for long President Museveni has sought to smuggle this provision in the constitution but was blocked by Ugandan Politicians including those in the ruling party.
“The struggle to have government take over private land is an old one dating back during the times of the Constituent Assembly but fortunately on this matter of land, there has not been anything partisan about it. He (Museveni) has faced as much opposition from NRM as from outside the party,” he said.
Minister Tumwebaze however, surmised all this as empty talk by the opposition strongman.
“I am not surprised by Besigye. He is now more worried and vulnerable politically than before because of seeing and hearing government’s tough stance on issues of service delivery. He is becoming a boring subject and so has to desperately fight for space in the media,” he said.
The Minister believes that now that government has been fighting to improve service delivery, “the likes of Besigye get absolutely lost since they have no superior alternatives to sell, apart from peddling deceptive talk of inciting people on the weakness of government.”
“An example was the initial support Besigye got from the northern part of Uganda, which was largely a protest vote against NRM because of the Kony war. When the area was pacified, Dr Besigye got a shock of his life at the next polls.”
The Minister added, “His talk about land therefore is irresponsible talk trying to look for relevance. Remember he once said that President Museveni was going to sell Lake Victoria.
“The same Dr Besigye and his party mounted stiff resistance to the land amendment law government passed some years back which was for the protection of the bibanja holders against unfair evictions by rich absentee landlords. So what moral authority does he have now, to claim to be a an advocate of people’s land rights?.
“Kyankwanzi was about serous talk, work and substance, no wonder Dr Besigye is worried about the Kyankwanzi meeting. No body and certainly not Besigye can claim to care more for citizen Land rights than the NRM government and President Museveni do.”