KAMPALA. Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer for Kampala Lord Mayor seat Eng Ronald Balimwezo has vowed to unseat the incumbent Erias Lukwago .
Lukwago ,55 , the president of newly formed Peoples Front for Freedom (PFF) is seeking a fourth term as lord mayor .
Eng. Balimwezo , 53 currently Nakawa East legislator and former Nakawa Division mayor says if entrusted with leadership he will prioritize the fight against youth unemployment, arguing that many young people remain jobless due to a lack of employable skills.
Ahead of his nomination on Thursday,Eng. Balimwezo unveiled changes he plans to make if elected into office.
He acknowledged that a significant number of young people are jobless, not because they lack the will to work, but because they do not possess the employable skills required in the job market.
He said that he is already addressing the problem by establishing an institute specifically designed to train juakalis (informal sector artisans) and supporting them to acquire highly paying jobs in the Middle East.
“I want to work on the issue of employment. Many young people are jobless because they lack employable skills. I started an institute to train juakalis and ensure they obtain workers’ passes,” he said.
The impact, he said, has been significant . He noted that a migrant worker who would earn less due to lack of skills is now able to secure a monthly salary of up to Shs 5.8 million.
“A migrant worker who previously earned Shs 1.2 million now earns Shs 5.8 million because they leave Uganda with skills and papers to certify that,” he said.
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“We are going to expand the school to other divisions of Kampala to ensure that we produce a skilled workforce,” he added.
Eng. Balimwezo also pledged to fight for property taxpayers to realize the value for their money.
“We already have legal frameworks in place, such as the Local Government Rating Act, which introduced the property tax. Funds collected from property owners should be reinvested directly into improving infrastructure within the same localities where the taxes are collected. In this way, taxpayers would be able to see and feel the value of their contributions through tangible developments such as better roads, improved drainage systems, and other essential services,” he said.
Eng. Balimwezo said that unfortunately, this vision has not been realized.
He said that property owners continue to dutifully pay their taxes, yet they do not see any meaningful improvement in their neighbourhoods.
Every property taxpayer, he said, should be assured of good social services. Speaking after Eng.Balimwezo’s nomination NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi said the party had chosen a clean and trusted candidate who will bring victory home .
He reiterated his earlier call to all party members who missed getting party flags to rally behind the official flag bearers .
However , Eng.Balimwezo’s nomination did not go without chaos ,security agencies blocked him from organizing a rally at Katwe playground and even new his supporters and NUP leaders chose to take the function to their headquarters in Makerere Kavule , they were greeted with teargas and live bullets leaving some people injured .
Other candidates including Beatrice Mao of Democratic Party , Moses Kizito Nsubuga of National Resistance Movement and former Kampala Woman MP Nabilah Naggayi Ssempala who is standing as independent