By ALEX PITHUA

President Museveni has urged religious and cultural leaders to play an active role in fighting poverty, saying they must go beyond preaching and tradition to guiding communities toward economic transformation.

“People being poor in a country that has everything is a big mistake and it’s largely a failure in leadership,” the President said.

“I’m not just talking about political leaders, but also religious and cultural ones. These should be like parents to the people,” he mentioned.

The President also questioned how spiritual and traditional leaders can claim moral authority yet fail to provide practical guidance on livelihoods.

“How can you be a pastor or cultural leader when you can’t even feed the flock with real solutions?” he asked.

President Museveni made the remarks while in Ntoroko on the first day of his tour of the Rwenzori Sub-region, where he is visiting Parish Development Model (PDM) beneficiaries to assess the program impact on the ground on Tuesday.

He was visiting Steven Kisembo, a 34-year-old resident of Kisungu II Cell in West Ward, Kibuuku Town Council, Ntoroko District.

Kisembo, a PDM beneficiary, now owns 18 goats.

The President also donated Shs 10 million to Kisembo, to help him buy two acres of land and expand his goat project.

On his part, Kisembo thanked President Museveni for the PDM initiative, saying that it had really improved the livelihoods of Ugandans.

Alex Pithua is news editor at zoomer Africa