Sunday 11th December 2020, Presidential Candidate Mugisha Muntu campaigned in Sironko and Mbale City. He was accompanied by Bugisu sub-regional coordinator Zanubia Namutamba and other leaders from district ANT structures and flag bearers. The day started with prayers at St. Peters Cathedral, where he also spoke to the congregants, and later attended prayers and addressed congregants at St. Johns Church of Uganda (COU). Mugisha Muntu expressed disappointment with the poor state of service delivery and poverty in the Bugisu subregion. He attributed these challenges to severe corruption in government institutions that have made it impossible for the government to deliver any tangible service to its people. It should be noted that the Transparency International report (2019) ranked Uganda number 137 out of 180 among the least corrupt countries in the world. This is an indication that the country is leading from behind.
Mugisha Muntu assured the people in the Bugisu subregion that the next ANT government will enforce discipline in public institutions and ensure checks and balances in government institutions to stamp out the vice of corruption. He added that ANT is composed of disciplined leaders with a clean track record who will ensure transparency and accountability in public institutions. This is the basis upon which the country will be led going forward.
The presidential candidate spoke about the need to clean the leadership mess that has engulfed this country for the last 58 years. He said that this country has suffered from the politics of individualism promoted by self-centered leaders. He assured people in Mbale and Sironko that once ANT is elected to power, this will be the starting point of building a new Uganda. “We must always remember that leadership cannot be a one-man show. Putting country before self isn't simply our mantra. It is our political worldview. We will do everything humanly possible to ensure that the leadership of this country is people-centered," Mugisha Muntu said.
He furthered spoke about landslides which is affecting the people in the Bugisu subregion, and said that the next ANT government will involve the affected populations in finding out a lasting solution to this challenge. The challenges affecting resettlement are due to poor planning and negligence by the current government.
Regarding mineral development, the locals told the presidential candidate that they were dissatisfied about limestone from their region being processed in other areas by the current government instead of establishing processing factories in the area. This has benefited other areas at the expense of the Elgon region yet the area should have been the primary beneficiary. Mugisha Muntu reassured the people here that the next ANT’s government approach will be to establish factories and industries from the exact areas where these raw materials are found. He said that this will help different areas with different resources to benefit directly from their natural resources.
He concluded the day by urging the people to exercise consciousness while choosing leaders in the forthcoming elections, citing that their choice should be guided by informed decision not just emotions.