The Democratic Party (DP) has said that the government’s intention to bailout out indebted businessmen is a cover up for paying back funds that were advanced to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) for campaigns.

Addressing a press conference earlier today, DP Publicity Secretary Paul Kenneth Kakande, accompanied by eminent party member Abdallah Kiwanuka, a former Mukono Municipality MP aspirant said Mr. Yoweri Museveni’s party, the NRM, acquired huge sums of money from the city tycoons to fund its activities during the election period, adding that it was now ‘pay back time’.

Recently, the media carried several stories about a reported Shs1.5 trillion bailout to 65 distressed companies, but the government has since denied any such plans.

And, according to Kakande and Kiwanuka, the money being touted around as ‘bailout’ is far less than what the businessmen allegedly lent to the NRM, adding that the figure had been doubled or tripled.

“The NRM government and Mr. Museveni acquired huge sums of money from these city tycoons during the recently concluded campaigns and elections and it was time to pay them back and using an excuse of bailing out indebted businessmen was just a disguise to blindfold the people of Uganda,” Kakande charged.

He argued that the money could as well have been used for other ventures that are beneficial to a larger number of citizens.

“We as Democratic Party happened to visit a number of hospitals in the country and their conditions are extremely poor,” Kakande said, adding that they were dismayed at the deplorable conditions they encountered on visits to Agago, Kawoolo, Abim and Kitagata hospitals.

“Some of the hospitals we went to and had no equipment, medical personnel, and the ones that had the medical personnel, had few personnel who could not even operate the little equipment they have,” he said. by press time efforts to get comment from the NRM were futile, however, senior finance ministry officials have said they are not aware of the said bailout.

In a related development, Kakande said the DP vice president for Buganda region and MP for Mukono municipality Betty Nambooze, who had been bedridden for several months and needed US$140.000 for treatment in the US, had returned from South Africa where she underwent treatment.

“The huge amounts used for treating of government officials that are always flown out should be re-invested in Ugandan hospitals to promote better health in the country,” Kakande said, before lauding the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) chapter in South Africa for being so supportive towards the treatment of Nambooze.

Further, Kakande said, the DP was organizing organizing a fundraising dinner scheduled for August 12 at Hotel Africana, to help offset some of Nambooze’s medical costs.

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Police have issued a raft of tough guidelines for boda boda cyclists, and any breach will make the errant rider face heavy penalties. The development follows a meeting convened by the traffic commander Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) Norman Musinga earlier today, held at the Sharing Hall in Nsambya.

In a communication released today and signed by Mr Musinga, the cyclists were warned against dangerous riding, riding without a reflector jacket, riding on the pillions, disrespecting traffic lights and riding numberless motor cycles among other omissions.

According to Mr Musinga, every cyclist will also be required to have fulfilled all the requirements including having a driving permit and license in three weeks, ending August 16.

Over the years Boda Boda cyclists have ‘enjoyed’ a exhibited a high level of impunity on the roads, something that has led to the deaths of thousands of people who hire their services.

‘To better understand the danger posed by the errant cyclists, a visit to Mulago Hospital where the administration opened a ward specifically to handle victims of boda boda accidents, will suffice,’ one Jamil Ssenyange remarked on the sidelines of the meeting today.

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