President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has commissioned the newly refurbished Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium.
The multi-purpose stadium was re-developed by businessman Hamis Kiggundu aka Ham and a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement .
Museveni said thus ; “First of all, Kiggundu is a young man who was born I think when the NRM had come to power, but he is a real NRM by being innovative and knowing that you can get prosperity in Uganda. This is what we have been telling you.”
He noted that Kiggundu has contributed to the development of his country because he believes in the philosophy of “yes we can”.
“I thank Kiggundu because he has been able to show that attitude not only in this project but even in other projects. When he came up with this idea, in my bushwar ways of doing things, I quickly understood him because we bushwar fighters don’t take long to understand things. If you take a long time to make a decision you die,” he said.
“He had a clear idea. There’s a government asset called Nakivubo, you lease it to me, I develop it using private money and then cover my costs through the collections and also other businesses I will do around there for 49 years. So, this was clear, what is the problem? I told people to support this man, if he doesn’t perform we throw him out, if he performs, he will recover his money because what we want is not a government stadium or a Church stadium; it is not important, what we want is a stadium in Uganda irrespective of who runs it and by the end of the day we all gain from it businesswise.”
“If we get the private sector who can do this type of thing as guided by the government and according to the standards of the government then there’s really no problem. I have seen the facilities; I have been assured that they meet the standards of AFCON and other international groups so I’m very happy. Now we have Namboole which is a government one, this is also government but now leased to Kiggundu for 49 years and then we are going to build one or two others in Hoima and maybe Akii-Bua in Lira. In future we shall also have one zonal stadium in each zone.”
Kiggundu thanked President Museveni for his support that has contributed to the success of the project.
He commended the NRM government under the stewardship of President Museveni for ushering in peace to Uganda that has enabled development programs to be accomplished.
The businessman also urged other Ugandans to emulate him in order to develop the country.
“I take it as an obligation as a Ugandan that it is my responsibility to develop myself and my country and do it collectively. This is a direct reflection of your effort and struggle. The prevailing circumstances created by the current NRM regime is the main reason as to why an ordinary man like me can do such a project. I pray that other Ugandans can follow suit,” he said.
