By Hanning Mbabazi
In a loving birthday message via his verified Twitter handle, Mr. Museveni said that the Minister of Education has been a cornerstone of their family and a role model to many women around the world. The message was accompanied by two rare pictures of the First Lady, one of her during her youth and another looking stunningly fresh.
“A very Happy Birthday to you, Maama Janet Kataaha Museveni. You are the cornerstone of our family and a true mother of the nation. Your heart for service makes you a role model to many women in Uganda and around the world. May the good Lord continue to shower His blessings on you and may He keep you in perfect health for the rest of your long life,” the President said in a tweet.
In reply, the First Lady did not beat around the bush, referring to Mr. Museveni as husband and friend. “Thank you Mzee, my husband and friend. And to everyone for the warm wishes. I thank God for yet another year, for the gift of life and good health. God bless you all,” Janet replied.
This show of affection has been wildly received by a litany of social media users who are cheering on the couple and commending their show of affection for each other. President Yoweri Museveni aerlier arrived in China for a four day working visit, where he is attending the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and meet President Xi Jinping. One of the projects that has not progressed as fast as thought though is the Special Gauge Railway (SGR), and it will likely be back on the table for discussion. Construction reached Nairobi from Mombasa, but financing talks to extend it to the other partners Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda have stalled.
Responding to concerns about Chinese loan infrastructure projects last year while in Britain, the President said the Chinese are doing great on the continent despite a few issues that can be managed.
“I don’t speak Chinese, I speak English. But if English does not bring factories what do we do? He asked before citing various projects that are supported by China through soft loans including the Karuma Hydro power dam, Isimba Dam, the ceramics factory and the Phosphates factory under implementation. “We are negotiating the railways project. This coupled with electricity will bring the cost of doing business down. We had huge deposits of phosphates for a long time and tried to hog it around for the West but they were not interested until the Chinese came in,” he said.
