President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni yesterday performed the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium in Lira City.
The construction of the US$ 129 million state-of-the-art facility is to be undertaken by an Egyptian firm SAMCO National Construction Company and Khater Sports and is projected to take a record period of 20 months to complete.
President Museveni used the occasion to explain the cause of the delay in the construction of the Stadium while at the same time castigating some political actors who are spreading lies tying the upcoming Presidential and general elections to the project.
“No Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium, no votes for NRM. So please we are tired of lies. Elections based on lies are not good elections, they should be based on the truth. If you have elections based on lies then you are killing your country,” President Museveni warned.
President Museveni explained that the government had to prioritize the implementation of the competing programmes on a small resource envelope.
He said the government did not deliberately abandon sports or the construction of stadiums but had to first deal with the basic necessities in the country like peace, infrastructure, education and health, among others.
“Therefore, the delay of the construction of Akii-Bua Stadium was not because we did not care, it was because we had to survive first; peace, food, education, health and infrastructure, among others,” he said.
“When some people try to say, Oh, this government is useless, they have forgotten sports- I am a sportsman myself, but I couldn’t start with sports when there was no peace or food in the country. It is not that we didn’t know about sports but one by one makes a bundle,” President Museveni explained.
He also cautioned the wanainchi against some political actors who claim to be able to do everything at once and always to treat them as liars.
President Museveni also informed the audience that the day was about celebrating the sports legend John Akii-Bua and also to fulfill the commitment of co-hosting the AFCON tournament with the sister East African countries of Kenya and Tanzania.
He stressed that Uganda is to fast track the construction of the stadium as AFCON is an international event, adding that Uganda will not fail to do her part.
“This time we agreed with other East Africans- Kenya and Tanzania to host the Afcon. Now that we have committed with other East Africans, we must do the 3 stadiums the AFCON people want. We have Namboole, Nakivubo and initially Akii-Bua stadium,” he elaborated.
President Museveni further explained that the AFCON group brought in other conditions of having an International Airport near the stadium leading to Hoima stadium coming on board because of Kabalega International Airport.
President Museveni assured the nation that the government will construct other smaller stadiums regionally in a phased manner.
Mrs Museveni praised God for the event, describing it as a new chapter in the sports sub-sector.
She commended President Museveni for supporting sports in the country.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for always finding time in your busy schedule to be part of our sports events and for your commitment to the development of Sports in the nation,” she said.
She additionally acknowledged the guidance the President has offered to the young generation of the country.
“You have guided us; you have cheered our young people on. Some of them look up to you as their coach and cheerleader. We cannot thank you enough,” the First Lady said.
The first lady also noted that the delay of the construction of Akii-Bua stadium was due to several competing demands but strongly believed that God’s timing is the best as the long-awaited event finally took place.
She further announced the ongoing construction of Hoima City Stadium, the renovation of Mandela stadium and plans to undertake the second phase of works at the stadium to ensure its compliance with the International Standards in preparation for AFCON.
“The beauty of the investment is that all these facilities will bridge the gap in sports infrastructure even at community level because they will serve beyond the AFCON tournament,” she observed.
She further announced other government’s commitments like the construction of Buhinga, Kakyeka stadiums and Lugogo Sports complex among others, pointing out that all the investments are capital intensive in nature and will be handled in a phased manner.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng saluted President Museveni and the First Lady for gracing the event. She also thanked the people of Lira City and beyond for turning up in large numbers on a short notice.
She assured the President and Maama Janet that the people of Lango love sports and have generated several local football clubs that are doing very well in the sub-region, having some of their players in the country’s big teams.
The function was also attended by the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Hon. Betty Amongi and the Minister of State for Northern Uganda, Dr. Kenneth Omona.
Others who attended included the former Egyptian Diplomat in Kampala Ambassador Mohamed El- Hamzani and the SAMCO project Manager Mohamed Nazih.
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