Nabakooba Attends Pastors’ Conference as Religious Leaders Ask Museveni for 20 Tractors

Pentecostal pastors in Uganda’s central region have asked President Yoweri Museveni to provide them with 20 tractors to support commercial agriculture, train young people in modern farming and promote wealth creation in their communities.

The religious leaders say the tractors would help churches establish agricultural projects, promote irrigation, improve livestock farming and create income-generating opportunities for young people.

The request was presented by Dr Leonard Sserwadda, who leads development initiatives among born-again Christians, during the third Annual Revival Crusade and Conference held at Lubowa NSSF Grounds in Wakiso District.

The conference, which runs from October 7 to 18, was attended by Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister Judith Nabakooba, who represented President Museveni as the chief guest.

Dr Sserwadda said churches were ready to participate in the government’s wealth creation agenda by turning their institutions into centres for agricultural production, value addition and youth employment.

He explained that the proposed tractors would support farming activities across the central region while enabling religious leaders to demonstrate modern agricultural practices to community members.

“We intend to use churches as centres for promoting agricultural production, value addition and youth employment. We are going to transform this nation through agriculture. We are going to transform the nation through getting good food,” Dr Sserwadda said.

He added that the equipment would also help farmers establish and maintain pasture for livestock and adopt irrigation methods to sustain production during prolonged dry spells.

The conference, organised by Christian Life Embassy Church under the leadership of Rev. Dr Patrick Semambo, brought together local and international religious leaders for prayers, training and discussions on national development.

Participants also prayed for Uganda’s continued peace and stability, with Dr Sserwadda praising the country’s political environment under President Museveni’s leadership.

He said the peace enjoyed by Uganda had created an environment in which churches could conduct worship and participate in community development activities.

“Uganda is the only country under the leadership of President Museveni that has not had any civil war for the past 40 years. This peace has given us a conducive environment to worship God,” he said.

Bishop Thomson Enock Byamugisha, the overseer of the Church in Makindye-Ssabagabo Municipality, also called on Museveni to meet religious leaders to discuss their participation in government development programmes.

Byamugisha said some born-again Christians had not fully benefited from initiatives such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga, partly because Makindye-Ssabagabo was regarded as an opposition stronghold.

He said the pastors were willing to work with the government to mobilise young people and other residents to participate in wealth creation programmes.

The bishop further revealed that the pastors’ fellowship was exploring plans to establish a community facility that would include a hall, a hospital and other amenities accessible to people regardless of their religious beliefs.

He said the religious leaders had started searching for suitable land for the proposed development and intended to present the plan to the President during a meeting.

In his message delivered at the conference, Museveni encouraged Christians to embrace income-generating activities and move away from subsistence farming, which he described as a major obstacle to household prosperity.

The President said approximately 30 per cent of Ugandan households were still engaged in subsistence farming, producing mainly for their own consumption instead of participating in commercial agriculture.

“This is dangerous in the modern era, where all goods and services needed to sustain life must be bought with money,” Museveni said.

He urged believers to take advantage of government wealth creation programmes and invest in productive enterprises, identifying commercial agriculture, services, industry and information and communication technology as key sectors for creating jobs and improving household incomes.

Museveni also highlighted government investments in roads, electricity, peace, security and market integration, saying these were intended to support businesses and attract investment.

“The economic advantages that the NRM has created must be translated into jobs and wealth for the households,” he said.

The President called on religious leaders to continue preaching the gospel while encouraging their followers to engage in productive activities that contribute to national development.

Minister Nabakooba thanked the pastors for praying for Uganda and supporting national development efforts, pledging to present their concerns and requests to Museveni.