Senior Presidential Advisor on Busoga in charge of poverty alleviation has commended the people of Busoga for the support they have given her in execution of her mandate.

Hon. Florence Mutyabule, says it is because of this support by all people and leaders in Busoga that she was able to accomplish her tasks as given by the president.

“I want to thank everyone, the farmers, the women, youth and all district leaders for the support they accorded me which enabled me do my work. It is because of this teamwork that made me shine in the eyes of the appointing authority. I also humbly thank the staff in the Office of the President because they have been supportive of my work,” she told the media.

Mutyabule whose contract has been renewed by the president as an SPA in charge of Busoga alongside many other SPAs, said that in the past term of her service, a lot has been achieved in the area of monitoring and supervision of government programs.

On the education front, she said the main challenge remains that of high school drop out. She attributed it to lack of awareness by some parents about the importance of educating children and instead choose to keep them doing domestic work and gardening.

“The most affected are the gal children. Some of our parents still think education is meant for only the boys. This is something we need to fight because education is for all children. Let us not discriminate when it comes to securing our future as a country” she said. Mutyabule added that even some parents continue to send kids at school without entanda which affects their ability to learn and stay in school. She said a recent study done by a local NGO in Busoga on education, indicated that some of the pupils stop at having supper and are sent to school where they spend the whole day without any meal.

“How do you expect such a pupil to love school? They will automatically hate it because they are studying on empty stomachs yet when they stay in the gardens, they eat many things especially fruits. As parents, we need to check our performance also in terms of providing for our children so that they stay in school” she said.

She noted that there are also some pending presidential pledges especially in the island district of Namayingo where the president promised to construct a boarding school for girls to prevent them from being defiled. She said she is going to follow up on this matter now that her mandate has been extended. She said her findings on the island is that defilement is high and this is because the fishermen have ready money they use to lure girls.

On agriculture, Mutyabule commended farmers for continuing to grow food and also their efforts to embrace the president’s call for commercial agriculture. She commended the National Animal Genetic Resources and Data Bank (NAGRC) led by Executive Director Dr. Peter Beine for making efforts to have the Kasolwe farm running. She said she will ensure that farmers benefit from this farm since it has got all units. Mutyabule also called on farmers to fully utilize this farm by way of supplying raw materials for making animal feeds such as maize, soya among others.

“I have a full package I am going to unveil to the people of Busoga. I want us to fully utilize all available Investment opportunities. This is going to be my major focus. Investment in all spheres including tourism, agriculture etcetera. I have a group of people who want to invest in Busoga. Let us work together. Let’s be foot soldiers in fighting corruption and demand for services” she said. She thanked President Museveni for entrusting her with this office and promised to fully deliver until poverty in Busoga becomes history.

The president on Wednesday made appointment and reappointment of his Senior Presidential Advisors wherein he retained Mutyabule, Gen. Salim Saleh, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Mary Karooro Okurut, Amelia Kyambadde and above all, appointed Hajji Abdu Nadduli after months of him being on katebe.