MUSEVENI: A church is a church, not an NGO

President Museveni Agrees Not To Register Churches As NGOs

Kaliro, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has pledged to resolve the issue of registering new churches as Nongovernmental Organizations.

“The issue of periodic registration of new churches as NGOs, we are going to resolve it. A church is a church, not an NGO,” Museveni said during the Universal Church Mega Youth Crusade organized by Prophet David Isanga, the spiritual head of Universal Apostles Fellowship Church of Righteousness in Kaliro district.

The President’s pledge followed Isanga’s request to have the registration scrapped.“For long this Church has been registering as a Nongovernmental Organization yet this is the only Indigenous Church founded by typical Ugandans; it is unique in its calling and I think even the rest of the world is looking forward to seeing it through that the Church of Righteousness propagates to their countries,” Isanga said.

“We therefore request you that these taxes in the name of registering us as NGOs or companies limited by guarantee every after five years be scrapped,” Isanga said. Museveni contributed Shs100 million to the Church SACCO. The Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement Richard Todwong said Bishop David Isanga personally invited them to the Crusade to witness God’s decree over President Museveni’s leadership and wonders for the people of Uganda.

“Indeed, we can confirm and attest to the fact that your generosity and leadership to the people of Uganda has seen Ugandans in their various capacities excel including the Church,” Todwongo said. Todwong also informed the President that the followers of the Church pledged to work and support the NRM government. Meanwhile, President Museveni also reiterated his call to the people of Busoga to embrace the 4-acre Model type of farming.

He said when they take his advice, they will be able to create wealth. “When I was coming here from where I landed, I was looking through the homesteads, and I saw that you need to do something about homestead incomes with “ekibaro” in this area,” Museveni said.

“fter analysis, we recommend seven activities for you if you are working in a small area. We said have one acre of coffee, because the “ekibaro” showed us that with one acre of coffee, you can have Shs15m or more a year, secondly have an acre of fruits such as mangoes, oranges or pineapples, acre of three plant pasture for zero grazing cattle, number four grow food crops like cassava. In the backyard do poultry for eggs and piggery. Finally, do fish farming in ponds for those near the wetlands. Wetlands can be used in a good way but for you, you are using them in a bad way; you use them to destroy the environment, yet you get so little from that.”

President Museveni further noted that to modernise agriculture, the people of Busoga and Uganda at large should adopt irrigation, especially using water from the wetlands. “I now want the Basoga to do the kibaro, if we irrigate all the acreage on the dry land, how much shall we get in terms of more yield? We are not against you using the wetlands but we want you to use them in a better way so that we can do more and get more money.”

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