Ugandans have been urged to treat poverty as one of the country’s biggest challenges, alongside the ongoing fight against corruption.
The call was made by Mrs. Loice Natukunda Otafiire, Executive Director of Elevate Her Uganda, during the Isingiro District Women’s Day celebrations held at Kishaye Primary School on Friday.
Natukunda was the Chief Guest at the event, representing Hon. Lydia Wanyoto Mutende, Minister of State for Public Service.
The celebrations were hosted by Hon. Lilian Ruteraho, Woman Member of Parliament for Isingiro District, and attracted leaders, Members of Parliament and residents from Isingiro and neighbouring districts.
Natukunda commended Hon. Balaam Barugahara and others involved in the fight against corruption, saying efforts to protect public resources and promote accountability remain important for Uganda’s development.
However, she said the country should not lose sight of the difficulties faced by ordinary citizens, especially the growing challenge of poverty.
She argued that while Ugandans may have different political opinions and interests, poverty affects communities across the country and should therefore be treated as a common concern.
Natukunda questioned why citizens who are capable of working together on national issues should spend their energy fighting each other when many families continue to struggle with basic needs such as food, education and employment.
Speaking to journalists, she posed a simple question: “What is wrong if everyone can afford food, educate their children and live a good life?”
According to Natukunda, this should be at the heart of development.
She said a truly developing country should have families capable of meeting their basic needs, parents able to educate their children without excessive financial pressure, and young people with opportunities to work and create better futures.
The Elevate Her Uganda executive director also cautioned against assuming that every person contributing positively to society is interested in political power.
She said people who support women, empower young people or create opportunities for communities should be allowed to make their contribution without automatically being viewed as political competitors.
“Not everyone who does good wants to replace you politically,” she said.
Her remarks came as women’s contribution to household incomes and community development featured prominently during the Women’s Day celebrations.
Natukunda, whose organisation focuses on women’s empowerment, stressed that increasing women’s economic participation can have a wider impact on families and communities.
She said empowering women to earn incomes, creating employment opportunities for young people and helping families improve their livelihoods can contribute significantly to Uganda’s development.
She further referred to Uganda’s national motto, “For God and My Country,” saying that the mention of God should also encourage citizens to embrace love and unity.
She acknowledged that Ugandans will continue to disagree on political and development issues, but said such differences should not prevent people from cooperating on matters that affect everyone.
Among those matters, she identified poverty as one of the most important.
A family struggling to put food on the table, educate children or secure an income, she noted, may have little interest in political disagreements and instead needs opportunities that can improve its living conditions.
Natukunda said the responsibility of fighting poverty should not be left to government alone.
She pointed to businesses, religious institutions, organisations, community groups and individual citizens as other important players who can contribute to improving livelihoods.
She said these efforts should focus on the actual needs of communities so that support can reach the people who need it most.
At the same time, Natukunda maintained that addressing poverty does not mean abandoning the fight against corruption.
She said protecting public resources and ensuring accountability remain essential because resources lost through corruption are resources that could otherwise contribute to improving citizens’ lives.
She therefore presented the fight against corruption and the fight against poverty as two challenges that can be addressed at the same time.
While corruption can deprive citizens of resources intended for development, poverty continues to prevent many people from meeting their basic needs.
Natukunda consequently encouraged Ugandans to find more areas where they can cooperate despite their political differences.
She said citizens may disagree over leadership, politics and approaches to development, but they can still share the same desire for food security, education, employment and decent living conditions.
She described poverty as a common enemy capable of bringing people together around a shared national goal.
Her message at the Isingiro celebrations was therefore not a call to ignore political differences or accountability. Instead, she urged Ugandans to recognise the serious challenges affecting ordinary people and focus more attention on finding solutions.
As Uganda continues to pursue economic transformation, Natukunda said the country should ultimately measure progress by how many people are able to engage in productive work, improve their incomes and build better lives for their families.
