Muntu promises to lift Acholi out of poverty

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Presidential candidate Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Mugisha Muntu has pledged to introduce new agricultural models to lift the Acholi sub-region out of poverty, saying vast tracts of land remain unutilised due to what he termed as “criminal irresponsibility” by the current government.

While addressing a campaign rally at Oloki Lee village, Lagwai parish, Pader town council in Pader district on November 8, 2025, Muntu promised to establish agricultural banks to provide affordable credit and cheap loans to farmers.

“The introduction of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOS) by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government gave people hope after deliberately collapsing cooperative unions which thrived during former president Apollo Milton Obote II government, pushing farmers away from accessing cheap money,” he said.

“SACCOS offer loans between 2.5% to 3% per month, which means that at the end of the year, you will have to pay 30% loan interest which is absolutely high for farmers to make profits,” he insisted.

Muntu said the high interest rates charged by SACCOS have hindered farmers’ progress and pledged to introduce agricultural insurance schemes to compensate for losses.

“Under agriculture, I will introduce free tractor hire services to make you utilise huge chunks of land and engage in commercial farming. With this model, we shall lift you out of poverty sooner than expected,” he promised.

From Karuma to Pader, Muntu noted, there are few successful farmers except for a handful of foreign companies operating in the region.||“I went to the bush when I was 23 years old, was shot and hospitalised for four months and joined the struggle. I have defended my country a number of times, and I would not like you to live a begging lif,e but we can work together and retake this government and use it to develop your areas,” he said.

Muntu pledges to tarmac Pader–Kalongo–Paimol road

Muntu also promised to tarmac the 46-kilometre Pader–Kalongo–Paimol road, which residents said has been repeatedly promised by the government but never constructed.

Geoffrey Rubangakene, a resident of Labworomoro village, Puchota parish, Angagura subcounty in Pader district, said poor roads have left farmers at a disadvantage.

“What we cultivate, we sell it cheaply because of poor roads. We, in turn, buy expensive goods and services coming to our land and remain poor,” he said.||Ivan Amone, a resident of Okoki Lee village, Lagwai parish, Pader town council, said the only tarmacked road in Pader runs from Aswa River to Acholi Bur, making the transportation of agricultural produce a major challenge.

“If Muntu can tarmac our roads in our area, we can develop ourselves because we have bought motorcycles and we can do business and we buy cars,” he said.

Stamping out corruption

Muntu decried poor service delivery in health, roads and infrastructure, blaming it on widespread corruption within the government.

“Every year, Uganda loses money worth $2 billion dollars in corruption, and that would be helping us construct 33 roads every year if corruption was addressed in this country,” he observed.He added that within five years of his leadership, 110 roads of similar distance could be built if corruption was checked, accusing President Museveni of failing to fulfil 15-year-old road promises.

Unchecked corruption, Muntu said, has also led to drug shortages in health centres despite citizens paying taxes.

“If voted into power, I will arrest all the corrupt people that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has feared to arrest. I will select honest leaders to push Uganda forward and forget the past,” he promised.

He further stated that Museveni’s support in Buganda dwindled in 2021, showing that change is possible when opposition unity prevails.

“Museveni never wanted to lose support in Buganda, but he was defeated in 2021 and it can be done here when the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) swept the North, Kasese, Busoga and parts of the Eastern region,” he said.

“This territory has ever been under opposition before, and you can support me to do it this time round,” he emphasised.