In politics, there are leaders who come to be served, and there are leaders who come to serve. There are leaders who see Parliament as a destination, and there are leaders who see it as a platform for transformation.
Hon. Milly Babalanda, the Minister for Presidency and Member of Parliament for Budiope West Constituency, belongs to the second category. Her entry into the Budiope West race was not about power. It was about mission. It was about a strategic, well-thought-out plan to eradicate poverty at household level, in total alignment with the vision of H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to annihilate poverty and make a qualitative leap into high middle-income status.
This is her mission.
1. The Core Vision: No Family Left in Poverty
Hon. Babalanda’s vision is very clear and very simple: Every family in Budiope West must get out of the subsistence economy and enter the money economy.
She understands Budiope West very well because she is a daughter of the soil. She knows the mother in Nkondo who wakes up to dig with a hand hoe. She knows the youth in Kidera who have no capital. She knows the boda rider in Buyende Town Council who sleeps hungry.
Her strategic mission therefore starts at the household, not at the podium. Poverty is not fought in Kampala; it is fought in the kitchen, in the garden, in the shop, and in the boda stage.
2. The Three Pillars: PDM, Emyooga and GROW
To achieve this household transformation, Hon. Babalanda has built her mission on three powerful government programs, which she is ensuring reach every deserving person in Budiope West.
a) PDM for the Subsistence Farmer
The Parish Development Model (PDM) is President Museveni’s master plan to take 3.5 million households from subsistence to the money economy. Hon. Babalanda has taken it as her personal gospel.
Her message in every village is consistent: _If you are still in the subsistence economy, PDM is for you._ She has moved from parish to parish ensuring that the Shs 1 million per household reaches the right people, not the rich, not the connected, but the poor farmer in Buyanja, the widow in Ndolwa, the youth in Bulungi. She is fighting corruption in PDM and demanding accountability from parish chiefs and SACCO leaders. For her, PDM is not a political slogan; it is a lifeline.
b) Emyooga for the Informal Sector
Budiope West is not only farmers. It is a constituency of hustlers. Hon. Babalanda understands this informal economy deeply.
Her mission ensures that the produce dealer in Kidera Town Council gets Emyooga. The tailor in Buyende Town Council gets Emyooga. The salon operator in Bulungi Town Council gets Emyooga. The taxi operator and the boda boda rider who are the heartbeat of transport in Budiope West get Emyooga.
She has called upon all these groups to form SACCOs, to be organized, and to embrace government money. She tells them: “Do not fear government programs. Government programs are your capital. Use them, multiply them, and pay back so your neighbour can also benefit.” This is economic empowerment in action.
c) GROW for Women in Business
Hon. Babalanda is a champion of women empowerment. She knows that when you empower a woman, you empower a family and a nation.
Through the GROW Project – Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises – she is ensuring that women in business in Budiope West get affordable capital, business training, and mentorship. Whether it is the woman selling silver fish in Kidera, the woman running a restaurant in Buyende, or the woman with a produce store in Buyanja, Hon. Babalanda wants her to grow from a small trader to a big businesswoman. GROW is her tool for gender transformation.
3. A Constituency-Wide Mobilization: Every Sub-County Covered
Unlike leaders who only appear in their home village during campaigns, Hon. Babalanda’s mission covers the whole of Budiope West. She has physically traversed all the sub-counties and town councils, calling upon people to embrace government programs:
– Kidera Sub County
– Kidera Town Council
– Nkondo Sub County – her home
– Ndolwa Sub County
– Buyende Sub County
– Buyende Town Council
In each of these areas, her message is the same: Let us not be left behind. Let us take PDM, let us take Emyooga, let us take GROW, let us take UPE, USE, and all other programs. Government has brought the money to the parish; it is now our duty to use it.
4. Investing in Human Capital: Education as a Liberation Tool
Hon. Babalanda understands that wealth without education is not sustainable. That is why as part of her strategic mission, she has ensured that in at least every sub-county, she sponsors a student at the University.
This is not charity. It is investment. A child from Ndolwa who goes to university becomes a teacher, a doctor, an accountant, a leader who will come back to lift 10 other families. By sponsoring students across Budiope West, she is creating a generation of educated leaders who will permanently break the cycle of poverty. She is building human capital for the constituency.
5. Using the Ministerial Docket for the People
Many people hold ministerial positions and forget their people. Hon. Babalanda has done the opposite. She is using her powerful docket as Minister for Presidency to advocate for the well-being of the communities of Budiope West.
Through her office, she has lobbied for better roads, better health services, clean water, and effective service delivery in Buyende District. She has used her access to the President and to Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that Budiope West is not forgotten in national planning. This is what we call strategic lobbying: using proximity to power to bring services home.
6. A Permanent Home for the NRM: Donating Land for District Offices
In a historic and selfless act of patriotism, Hon. Babalanda is planning to donate land to construct the NRM District Offices in Buyende.
Think about this: A leader giving her own land for the party. This is not just a donation; it is a statement of commitment. It means the NRM will have a permanent home in Buyende. It means the party will be institutionalized, organized, and strong for generations to come. It means the people of Budiope West will have a place to go for party services, for mobilization, and for coordination.
This single act shows that Hon. Babalanda is not a seasonal politician. She is building institutions, not just campaigns.
Aligned with Museveni’s Vision
Ultimately, Hon. Babalanda’s strategic mission for Budiope West is not her own invention. It is fully aligned with the grand vision of President Museveni: to annihilate poverty, to transform Uganda from a peasant society to a modern, industrial, high middle-income country.
She is the bridge between the President’s vision in State House and the household in Nkondo, Kidera, Buyanja and Buyende. She is translating a national vision into household wealth.
Budiope West needed a game changer , Budiope West needed a strategist, a mobilizer, a mother, and a minister who can deliver.
And they got one in Hon. Milly Babalanda.
Kagenyi Lukka is the Deputy RCC Kampala – Kawempe Division
The post KAGENYI LUKKA: This is Hon. Babalanda’s Strategic Mission for Budiope West Constituency appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.