RACE FOR STATE HOUSE! NRM has united Ugandans, time to create wealth – M7

Yumbe – President Yoweri Museveni has said that while the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has successfully united Ugandans and delivered national development, it is now time for every household to focus on wealth creation.

Speaking at a rally in Yumbe District, President Museveni said the NRM government has brought peace, roads, electricity, schools, and health centers across the country, but cautioned that these developments alone do not automatically bring prosperity to individual homes.

“The NRM has united Ugandans and delivered development to all corners of the country — roads, electricity, schools, and health centers. However, there is a trap. Some people fail to distinguish between what belongs to all of us, and what belongs to you as a family or individual,” he said.

The President emphasized that wealth creation begins at the household level.

“You may travel on a tarmac road, but you do not sleep on the tarmac. When you return home, poverty is still waiting for you. That is why, since the 1960s, we have been telling people not to confuse development with wealth creation. Development is collective — it is ours. Wealth creation is personal — it belongs to your family, your company, or your household.”

President Museveni cited success stories under the Parish Development Model (PDM), noting that many beneficiaries are now earning from agriculture and small businesses.

“I heard of one woman who bought four goats and planted onions and tomatoes. Although some goats died, the rest multiplied. From her crops, she built a modern house, sends her children to good schools, and is saving for university education. That is the meaning of wealth creation,” he said.

He said government is currently injecting Shs 100 million per parish per year through PDM, and an additional Shs 15 million will be added for local leaders to ensure inclusiveness.

“In five years, each parish will have received about Shs 575 million. The money is a revolving fund. You do not pay it back to government — it remains in your SACCO to help others. That is your own bank,” Museveni explained.

He clarified that the small interest charged on repayments — about 6% — is meant to protect the value of money from inflation.

“If a cup of tea costs one shilling today, it may cost one shilling and ten cents next year. That is why we add a little interest — not to profit, but to maintain value,” he said.

The President also announced plans to create special funds for religious and cultural leaders, to support income-generating activities within their communities.

“We shall also create a fund for religious leaders — Sheikhs, Reverends, Fathers, according to their dioceses and Muslim districts. Cultural leaders will also have their own arrangements. All this is aimed at chasing poverty from our homes,” he said.

Museveni thanked local leaders for offering land for a model farm in Yumbe, which he said will be used to produce coffee, cocoa, and fruit seedlings for distribution to farmers.

Unity breeds prosperity

The President said Uganda’s progress is built on national unity — rejecting sectarian politics based on tribe, religion, or gender.

“Our strength lies in rejecting sectarianism — whether tribal, religious, or gender-based. That is why the NRM has remained the only national political movement that unites the majority of Ugandans,” he said.

He added that this unity enables the NRM to consistently win national elections in the first round, unlike the divided politics of the 1960s.

“In 1962, no party could win outright because politics was divided along religion and tribe. That kind of politics is suicidal. But because we believe in unity — in Uganda, in Africa — we win in the first round,” he said.

From instability to Stability

President Museveni also reflected on Uganda’s long journey to peace, noting that the country has been stable since 1986 after years of conflict.

“Before the British came, there were kingdoms and dynasties that later fell into wars — between Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole, Rwanda, and others. After independence, things worsened with wars in 1966, the Amin era of the 1970s, and later conflicts between different groups,” he said.

“When the NRM took power in 1986, peace returned. We continued to fight residual rebel groups until around 2007. Since then, Uganda has enjoyed the longest period of stability in its history.”

The President urged Ugandans and Yumbe in particular to use peace and infrastructure to generate household wealth.

“The NRM has given you peace, unity, and infrastructure. Now, use them to create wealth in your homes. Poverty should not be your companion anymore,” he said.

About Post Author