Gen Salim Saleh, the Chief Coordinator of operation Wealth Creation (OWC), a government-led initiative for improving household incomes, is rooting for a partnership with the Catholic Diocese of Kasese to boost OWC activities in the district, URN reports.
Gen Saleh has pitched camp in Kasese district for about three months now and has, among other things, seen the approval of a 119 billion Shillings investment plan by Kasese district council to be financed under the Agri-led project.
But, he says that he has not been in a position to get good contact with the ordinary people, who form part of the population that depends on subsistence farming.
While officiating at a fundraising ceremony for the construction of the Kasese Catholic Cathedral in Kasese town, Gen Saleh appealed to the Church to partner with him in identifying the vulnerable groups that depend on subsistence farming for survival.
The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Kasese Rt Rev Francis Aquirinus Kibira said that the Church was equally committed to working with all the development partners in kicking poverty out of the communities. The prelate directed parish priests to provide Gen Saleh with the necessary assistance for the cause.
A meeting for the clergy with Gen Saleh has been scheduled for February 25 to discuss how to implement the partnership.
Kasese Diocese is seeking 5.1 billion Shillings to complete the Cathedral that for about three years had stalled at the foundation stage. The fundraising drive held on Saturday raised 70 million Shillings in cash and 517 million Shillings in pledges.
Gen Salim Saleh pledged to raise 510 million Shillings as a contribution towards the construction of the Cathedral.
