KASESE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
P.O. Box 54, Kasese
19th May 2021
Hon Speaker of this August House
The Deputy Mayor and Members of the executive
Hon members of council
The RDC
The Technical team
The leaders of Political Parties
Our Traditional Leaders & elders
Media Houses present here
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
RE: INAUGURATION ADDRESS
Honorable Speaker, it is befitting that I start by congratulating you for your election as the Speaker of this Council. This means this house has taken nod of your leadership qualities and that we have shown confidence that you will be able to steer this ship. I also take this opportunity to congratulate each and every one of you, Councilors who have been elected to represent their constituencies in this august house. Above all we have to thank the masses, the people of Kasese Municipality, who went out to cast their votes so that they can have a voice in the decision making process. We are humbled.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust the community has bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by the past leadership as there is no leadership without a positive contribution. I thank the former mayor Mr.Kabyanga Godfrey Kiime for also laying a brick on the development of this town, Mr. Ndungo Nelson whom we worked together to initiate the process of uplifting Kasese town council to municipality level and Mr Byaruhanga Cosmas for the continuity of the proposal and receiving the municipality status and became the first mayor. Mr. Speaker I salute these great men.
I therefore want to personally thank the citizens of Kasese Municipal Council for this incredible opportunity to serve. It's a great honor to become Mayor of this Municipal Council which I initiated far back in early 2000 and at the same time humbling and exciting.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every tribe and every faith joined in celebration across mountains and valleys the victory of a man who people thought was a no body but now stand before you to take the most sacred oath of the highest office in this town.
This celebration manifested that we are in a midst of a crisis. Our civil servants are at war and hate each other, our local revenue is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure as a community to make hard choices in electing leaders to prepare our town for a new age. Homes have been lost due to floods; jobs shed and businesses shuttered. Our health care is wanting; Poor road network, our schools fail too many; Civil servants are not balanced in motivation; subordinates supervise their seniors; High turnover of Town clerks; these are real indicators of leadership crisis.
We remain a young Town, but in the words of Scripture, The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation, the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
Today I say to you that the challenges we are facing are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, Kasese Municipality, they will be met.
I know that my swearing in today is not a personal achievement, but a call for action, a call to change the lives of our people for the better. Mr. Speaker
Mr. Speaker It is the will of the voters that we are constituted in this form, and that should be respected. Today we stand here to declare commitment of our municipality to translate the current National Development Plan into an actual economic development plan that suit our community to achieve a better life for our voters.
Mr. Speaker, we are fresh from local government elections where all political parties that are represented in this chamber raised expectations during election campaigns. Now that we are in office, this marks the end of politics. We are going to work with central Government together as collective political leadership of this institution to move our municipality forward. This council chamber will be transformed into a mental gymnasium where robust developmental debates take place with the sole aim of achieving the vision of this municipality; which is “A well planned, Clean, Green and Poverty Free Municipality”. We will always regard our vision statement as our starting points for strategic planning.
Mr. Speaker, Moving this town to a city status is not a small task; it requires dedication of a collective Political leadership, commitment of disciplined Civil servants, private partnering, and participation of local communities and guidance of our elders.
18 сен 2024
