Museveni pushes for regional integration

President Museveni has urged East African countries to focus on producing products and selling them within an expanded market in the region. 
The President made the remarks yesterday after officially the 21st edition of the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games at Bukedea Comprehensive School in Bukedea District. 

 The event also marked the commissioning of the Bukedea Comprehensive Sports Park, a multipurpose sports stadium built by Speaker Anita Among. 
Mr Museveni used the occasion to emphasise the importance of regional integration and self-reliance, urging East African countries to focus on producing internal products and expanding their market.  
“The integration of East Africa is tied to the market; the bigger the market, the bigger the prosperity. Sports just comes in as a grease for this integration,” President Museveni said in his speech delivered with a fuse of Kiswahili and English.  

He commended Parliament Speaker Anita Among, for her role in establishing the stadium, praising her for being industrious and developmental. He urged other leaders to emulate her example of promoting regional development and the local economy. 
“I want to thank the Rt Hon Anita Among who developed this stadium at a reasonable cost and quickly. You [Among] should serve as an example to others so that they can develop stadiums in other parts of the country,” President Museveni said.  

President Museveni meanwhile cautioned youth against focusing solely on European examples, urging East Africans to prioritize their own destiny. 
He emphasised that regional integration is not just about sports, but an issue of livelihood. 
“You should not be diverted into thinking of things in Europe and forget about your own destiny,’’ he said. 

After officially opening the stadium and launching the FEASSSA games, Mr Museveni addressed locals in a rally at Kongunga High school grounds where he emphasized the need for Ugandans to get into the money economy through commercial agriculture.  
He also convinced people to support and embrace government programmes like the Parish Development Model and Emyoga if they are to defeat poverty. 
 Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Peter Ogwang the State minister for Education and Sports, said the country is fully prepared to host the tournament.  
 

ABOUT THE GAMES
      This year’s FEASSSA Games is jointly hosted in Uganda by Amus College School and Bukedea Comprehensive School and has brought together at least 3,000 participants from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi. The games will run until August 27, 2024. This is the 7th time Uganda is hosting FEASSSA games with Mr Museveni being the first ever head of state to grace it.
By David Oduut, George Muron & George Emuron