Biraaro promises vocational training in primary schools

MASINDI/HOIMA.

The Farmer’s party of Uganda (FPU) presidential candidate, Maj Gen (rtd) Benon Biraaro, has promised to introduce vocational training at primary school level to promote skills development as one way of fighting poverty in Uganda.

He proposed that once elected President, the vocational training programme will run concurrently with the universal primary and secondary education programmes introduced by the National resistance movement under President Museveni.

Addressing a rally in Kijura, a suburb of Masindi town last Saturday, Gen Biraaro said Uganda depends on china for essential goods because it adopted vocational training as one of its major pillars of economic development.

“Ugandans are shopkeepers of Chinese because whatever we sell here is produced in china. Our money is spent on buying glasses, cups, folks, spoons and everything, what system of education is that?,” Mr Biraaro wondered.

He said immediately his FPU wins the February presidential elections, the first issue to be handled will be introducing two education systems running parallel, the traditional and the vocational schools.

“When I went to Germany, they laughed at me for having two degrees when I cannot produce anything,” he said adding: “While in Uganda, educated persons only speak English, in china and Germany, they must produce something even if its vehicle wipers or side mirrors,”
Gen Biraaro also promised to fight poverty by boosting agriculture. He said his government will give Shs30b to every district per year to promote agricultural activities.

“Masindi serves a big area of farmers but look at its makeshift market, look at the dilapidated building,” he said amidst cheers from a relatively small crowd.

Gen Biraaro encouraged Ugandans to vote FPU arguing that it is the best party for the country, which depends mainly on agriculture. “All developed countries started with farmers and later on built industries,” he said adding that FPU has brought an opportunity for a new era in Uganda.

Division
He did not have kind words for opposition party Forum for Democratic change, which he accused of encouraging division mainly among the youth and its members having a lot of anger.

“You cannot build the nation when you have too much anger,” he said, adding: “The ruling National Resistance Movement party led by President Yoweri Museveni is expired,”.

While in Hoima, Gen Biraaro ruled out a possibility of his government giving preferential treatment to mineral-rich areas in the country if he is voted President.

While campaigning in the oil-rich Bunyoro region last Friday, Gen Biraaro said he believes in equitable development and cannot therefore support preferential treatment to regions with mineral wealth.

“Which percentage did the Basoga get from this hydro- power that you also have here? Maj Gen Biraaro wondered at a rally he held in Hoima bus park.

He was responding to a question from a voter who wanted to know what per centange of oil he would give Bunyoro if they voted him president.

He wondered why people were demanding a majority share from a natural resource.

Oil in Uganda
Oil prospectors have discovered more than 6.5 billion barrels of commercially viable oil deposits on the shores of Lake Albert. Efforts are underway to explore the oil resources for commercial production.

However, since the discoveries were announced, Bunyoro has been vocal demanding shares from the oil, preferential consideration in jobs, trainings, and businesses accruing from the petroleum industry.