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Museveni Rallies Ugandans to Embrace Wealth Creation, Reaffirms NRM’s Six-Point Agenda
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on Ugandans to recommit to the National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s six-point agenda, emphasising that true national transformation begins with peace and wealth at the household level, not just physical infrastructure.
Speaking during his wealth creation assessment tour in Entebbe Municipality on Wednesday, the president said the NRM’s longstanding blueprint—peace, wealth creation, development, job creation, access to markets, and delivery of essential services—remains the foundation of Uganda’s socio-economic progress.
“Today, we are focusing on Emyooga, but I want to re-emphasise the NRM guidance. Our foundation has always been built on six important things: peace, wealth, development, jobs, markets, and services,” Museveni told a crowd of residents and beneficiaries of government programs.
This was the third day of the president’s field tour, which began on Monday, July 7, to assess the impact of wealth creation initiatives such as Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM). The tour included a visit to a successful hair salon in Entebbe owned by an Emyooga program beneficiary and a stopover in Nakasozi Village, Ziba Ward, Kasanje Town Council, on the way to meet a model farmer in Busiro South.
Museveni urged Ugandans to shift their mindset from over-relying on government-built infrastructure to focusing on household-level income generation.
“You can have tarmac roads and electricity, but if there’s no money in the home, what good is that? Development without wealth is defective,” he said.
The president recounted his own experience from the 1960s when he acquired land in Rwakitura for commercial farming long before roads or power lines reached the area.
“At the time when I went to Rwakitura, there was no tarmac road or electricity. What I was looking for was pasture for my cows because cows don’t eat tarmacked roads or electricity. The wealth came first, and the infrastructure followed.”
He drew on traditional Banyankole wisdom, invoking the concept of Okwombeka—to build a life holistically through work, marriage, family, and eventually property. He warned leaders against focusing only on physical development.
In Kitoro, Entebbe Municipality, a young hairdresser named Mwirumubi shared how her life had changed through the Emyooga initiative.
“Our group received Shs30 million. I personally got Shs1 million after saving Shs350,000. That changed everything for me,” she said. Museveni praised her entrepreneurial spirit: “This girl created wealth out of nothing. Now she’s employing five people.”
Another testimony came from the chairperson of the local hardware operators’ SACCO, who borrowed Shs3 million to expand her business and start book production with her group. However, she appealed for machinery to scale their efforts.
Museveni commended such stories as proof that Emyooga and PDM were effectively lifting families from poverty when properly utilized.
Empowering Citizens, Expanding Jobs
The president emphasised the need for citizens to elect committed, people-centred leaders.
“You need leaders who can speak for you in Parliament. Elect people who will demand what you need,” he said, cautioning against choosing leaders who lack connection to grassroots issues.
Museveni outlined how government programs and industrial growth have expanded employment: “Factory jobs today employ 1 million people, the government employs 480,000, and the service sector employs 5 million. This is why I urge you to get involved.”
He added that Uganda now produces many goods it used to import, boosting local jobs and markets.
Road Infrastructure Promise
Concluding his visit, Museveni pledged to improve the long-neglected Mpigi–Kasanje–Nakawuka–Kisubi road. Reminiscing on its historical significance during the 1979 and 1986 liberation campaigns, he assured residents that work would soon begin.
“A Chinese company, CCCC, has already started preliminary work. In four months, tarmacking will begin and it will be completed in 18 months,” he said, citing a briefing from Works Minister Katumba Wamala.
As the president’s tour continues, focus remains on tracking tangible outcomes from wealth creation programs, spotlighting success stories, and reigniting grassroots participation in Uganda’s development agenda.
“Each home must work for wealth,” Museveni concluded. “Don’t wait to be rescued. Build your life, build your family, and build your future.”
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