The Minister for the Presidency and Woman Member of Parliament for Budiope West, Milly Babirye Babalanda, has urged residents of Kaliro District to reject corruption and fully utilise government wealth creation programmes, saying they hold the key to improving household incomes and accelerating local development.
Babalanda made the remarks while officiating at a thanksgiving service and commissioning a newly constructed family home belonging to the late Ngobi Fred’s family. The event brought together relatives, friends, local leaders and residents in a celebration marked by prayers and thanksgiving.
The minister conveyed greetings from President Yoweri Museveni, First Lady, and staff of the Office of the Presidency.
She congratulated the family for working together to complete the home, describing it as a symbol of unity, love and strong family values.
“A home is more than bricks and mortar. It is the foundation of family values, love and unity. My prayer is that this home becomes a place of peace, hospitality and God’s presence,” she said.
Babalanda also commended the family for raising their children in the Christian faith, encouraging parents to continue nurturing children with strong moral values.
She challenged residents to play an active role in fighting corruption, warning that the vice deprives communities of essential services and undermines development.
“Corruption steals opportunities from our children, delays services and slows development,” she said, calling on citizens to promote accountability and integrity in their communities.
The minister encouraged residents to take advantage of government programmes aimed at improving household incomes, including the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, the Youth Livelihood Programme, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project.
She said the programmes would only achieve their intended impact if beneficiaries embraced hard work, unity, proper management of resources and a culture of saving.
“What we need now is to use these programmes with integrity, unity, hard work and a saving culture so that the resources translate into wealth, jobs and better services,” she said.
Babalanda also promoted President Museveni’s four-acre farming model as a practical strategy for rural households with limited land to increase productivity and fight poverty.
Under the model, she explained, one acre should be dedicated to long-term cash crops such as coffee or cocoa, another to fruit production, a third to food crops including maize, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes and vegetables, while the fourth acre should support pasture for zero-grazing dairy farming and other livestock enterprises.
She said a well-managed four-acre farm can provide sustainable income, improve household food security and enable families to educate their children.
The minister further encouraged families to supplement farming with backyard enterprises such as poultry keeping for egg production and piggery, saying these ventures can provide regular weekly and monthly income.
She also urged residents to place their trust in God in all their undertakings, saying faith, hard work and responsible use of available opportunities would help communities prosper.
The thanksgiving service concluded with prayers for the Ngobi family and renewed calls for residents of Kaliro to embrace government development programmes as a pathway to stronger families, increased household incomes and a more prosperous district.
English 