BUYENDE — Minister for the Presidency and Budiope West Member of Parliament, Babirye Milly Babalanda, has called on Seventh-day Adventist pastors to make wealth creation and household economic empowerment part of their ministry, urging them to use church platforms to encourage communities to work hard and take advantage of government programmes.
Babalanda made the call during the closing ceremony of a nine-day SDA Camp Retreat held at Nkondo SDA Church Zone in Buyende District, where hundreds of believers gathered for prayer, Bible study, worship and fellowship. She commended the church community for dedicating nine days to spiritual renewal and strengthening their faith.
The minister conveyed greetings from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President Hajji Yunus Kakande and staff of the Presidency. She said religious institutions have an important role to play alongside government in promoting moral values, unity and socio-economic transformation.
Babalanda said Uganda’s journey towards upper-middle-income status requires citizens to complement faith with productive work. She pointed to government initiatives such as the Parish Development Model, Emyooga, Youth Livelihood Programme, Operation Wealth Creation and GROW, saying significant resources have been committed to helping households increase their incomes.
She urged believers to make proper use of such opportunities and adopt President Museveni’s four-acre model, with one acre dedicated to coffee, another to fruits such as oranges, mangoes and cocoa, a third to food crops including maize, beans, cassava and vegetables, and the fourth to pasture for zero-grazing dairy farming.
Beyond large-scale farming, Babalanda encouraged families to develop smaller enterprises around their homes, including vegetable gardens and poultry projects for eggs. She also urged communities to choose enterprises according to their circumstances, emphasising that government support must be matched with financial discipline, commitment and hard work.
The minister said President Museveni has placed the fight against corruption and the culture of hard work among key priorities, warning Ugandans against complacency.
“There must be no sleeping,” she said, urging Christians to ensure that their hands are as active in productive work as their voices are in prayer and praise.
Babalanda also contributed Shs1.2 million towards the construction of the church and called on the congregation to remain steadfast in faith while pursuing productive ventures. SDA leaders in Buyende thanked her for her continued support to the church and her commitment to the people of Budiope West and the wider SDA fraternity across Busoga.
