{"id":20429,"date":"2026-01-13T09:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/20429\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:33:24","slug":"muntu-promises-equitable-financial-system-telecom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/20429\/","title":{"rendered":"Muntu promises equitable financial system, telecom"},"content":{"rendered":"

__________________<\/p>\n

Many Ugandans struggling to make ends meet are trapped in a cycle of debt with no clear escape route.<\/p>\n

However, Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential candidate Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu says that it will be history once he is elected into power come January 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Muntu promises\u00a0to establish an equitable financial system to help bail out Ugandans struggling with high-interest rates from telecom companies and commercial bank loans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the pain you are going through,\u201d Muntu says, his voice filled with empathy. \u201cThe system is rigged against you, and it’s time we take back our country. If trusted and elected, I promise to prioritise\u00a0debt relief and work towards creating a more equitable financial system,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Muntu’s proposal seeks to provide relief to genuine borrowers who are struggling to repay their loans, while also promoting financial discipline and responsibility.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Addressing voters at Kashangura ward, Kagongo division in Ibanda district on January 12, 2026, Muntu pledged to address the growing concern of mobile loan defaults, which have\u00a0become a significant challenge for many Ugandans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mobile money ecosystem in Uganda has seen rapid growth, with over 36 million active mobile money subscribers. However, this growth has been accompanied by an increase in loan defaults, with many users exploiting loopholes to evade repayment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelecom companies have begun sharing data on loan defaulters, making it harder for individuals to switch networks and avoid repayment,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I, therefore, seek to provide relief to genuine borrowers who are struggling to repay their loans, while also promoting financial discipline and responsibility, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan shall involve establishing a more equitable financial system, potentially with more flexible repayment terms and lower interest rates. As the ANT government, we shall also put a standard interest rate that is lower to attract more borrowers to grow their investments in the long run,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

The municipal councillor for Ibanda municipality, Donald Murigye,\u00a0said the commercial banks and money lenders aren’t faring much better.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWith exorbitant interest rates, many Ugandans are finding it impossible to keep up with payments. The weight of these loans is crushing, with some even resorting to selling off their meagre\u00a0assets to survive,\u201d Murigye added.<\/p>\n

Kyagulanyi endorsement<\/p>\n

Muntu expressed regret over the last-minute endorsement of Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine by Winnie Byanyima, the wife of detained Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, who is one of the key members of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party,\u00a0with just three days remaining to the General Election.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ANT and PFF parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in July 2025 to formalise\u00a0their cooperation, aiming to present a united Opposition front, advocate for electoral reforms, and jointly field candidates, including supporting\u00a0Mugisha Muntu for President in the 2026 elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs per our memorandum, we agreed to pursue different approaches as per the party\u2019s strategy, and we agreed as ANT to field a presidential candidate,\u00a0which I believe they respected,\u00a0but I do not have control over individual decisions. As ANT, we are focused on campaigning for our own victory as a party trusted to give the change Uganda deserves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not mind whichever\u00a0candidate they support,\u00a0but I am here to give meaningful change to Ugandans after 63 years of living in political probability and gambling,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Muntu has,\u00a0throughout his campaign,\u00a0been introducing Opposition candidates,\u00a0including those from the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, PFF, and sometimes Independents.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Byanyima, on Sunday,\u00a0during a prayer session at Besigye\u2019s home in Kasangati,\u00a0handed over an undisclosed sum of money in an envelope to support Kyagulanyi during his campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"__________________ Many Ugandans struggling to make ends meet are trapped in a cycle of debt with no clear…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[12729,11564,12730,261,1842,12731,153,1420],"class_list":{"0":"post-20429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uganda","8":"tag-alliance-for-national-transformation","9":"tag-maj-gen-rtd-gregory-mugisha-muntu","10":"tag-muntu-promises-equitable-financial-system","11":"tag-politics","12":"tag-presidential-campaigns","13":"tag-telecom-loan-defaulters","14":"tag-uganda","15":"tag-uganda-elections-2026"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}