Clarification on Performance of Military Personnel under Operation Wealth Creation (OWC)

Our attention has been brought to a headline story in the Daily Monitor newspaper of May 14, 2018 under the title; ‘Soldiers messed up OWC, says Gen Saleh’. Given the misrepresentations conveyed by the story, we would like to clarify on the following.

Firstly, whereas it is true that the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation,  Gen Salim Saleh, was indeed in Gulu District and attended a stakeholder workshop on value chains of vegetable oil crops organized by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, the statements attributed to him during the meeting are false.

Secondly, though there have been some challenges in the implementation of OWC such as late delivery of inputs, drought, misallocation of inputs etc., UPDF officers have indeed done their best under the circumstances to ensure more Ugandans are lifted out of poverty.

Thirdly, officers and other personnel working under OWC are focused, patriotic citizens, committed to the mandate they have been given of preaching the gospel of wealth creation by H.E President Yoweri Museveni. OWC, like any other living and breathing institution, experiences a staff turnover that is not necessarily due to poor performance. It is therefore not true that the 54 officers were fired; they were moved on for various reasons.

However, it is important to note that success is never a one-man effort but rather        a combination of concerted efforts from various stakeholders doing their mandate reasonably and professionally. This includes the media, who are a key development partner and very vital for the successful execution of government programs.

We therefore take issue with the fact that the Daily Monitor decided to pedal such a negative and unfounded angle to disseminate information concerning the efforts and commitment of Gen Saleh in leading the fight against poverty in the country.

We call upon all development-oriented Ugandans to give such misinformation the disregard it deserves, and instead focus on utilizing the opportunity that has been availed        to enhance household incomes through access to free quality inputs provided under OWC.

The meeting discussed the implementation strategies of major Government activities.

The meeting took the private sector model under Namunkekera Agro Processing Industries as a case study to discuss proposed models for wealth creation in Northern Uganda. The meeting also looked into key enterprises for Lango Sub-Region being cassava, maize, beans, sunflower and rice and for Acholi being rice, cassava, sim sim and groundnuts among other enterprises.

“These areas will be supported for increased production, processing and marketing. OWC will focus on the increase in number of processing plants, as well as activate and ensure operationalization of already existing plants,” Gen. Salim Saleh.

The meeting focused on identification of key enterprises, intervention areas, establishment of industrial parks and co-ordination of Government interventions as means of galvanizing synergies. The local leadership is to take part in these strategies.

Otherwise, OWC will never let down the Commander in Chief’s intent and the people of Uganda; we shall remain an intervention for collective measures to facilitate National Socio-Economic transformation of our country.