President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has tasked NRM district chairpersons to take the lead in mobilising communities to embrace government wealth-creation programmes, saying the next decisive battle for Uganda is the elimination of household poverty.
Congratulating the chairpersons upon their election, and successfully mobilizing the masses to vote for NRM, Museveni described the recently concluded campaigns as among the most cohesive in three decades, comparable only to the 1996 elections. He noted that the country exhibited a level of unity and confidence not seen in years . He hosted the district, municipality and city NRM chairpersons at State House Entebbe on Friday February 13.
The NRM National Chairman refered to his his post-election statement published on February 12, 2026, in which he reflected on what he termed 30 years of political analysis and ideological clarity. He said the NRM’s historic mission has always been to identify and remove “mikyeno”, the bottlenecks or societal problems that hinder progress.
By 1996, he argued, the Movement had addressed key 'mikyeno' including insecurity, sectarianism, electoral malpractice, economic shortages, and broken infrastructure. That is why, he said, Ugandans then rallied behind the message of “No Change, No Cause.”
However, Museveni acknowledged that new mikyeno emerged over time. While peace and stability had been secured, citizens began asking: “Tulya ddembe?” — “Do we eat peace?” poverty, school fees, corruption and unemployment became the new challenges demanding urgent attention.
It is this unfinished business that the President now wants district chairpersons to confront directly.
“If we pursue the mikyeno and use government resources to solve those mikyeno,” he signalled, cohesion will be sustained and economic growth accelerated.
He cautioned leaders, particularly Members of Parliament and local government officials, to listen more closely to wananchi instead of focusing on peripheral issues such as travel and allowances. Leadership, he emphasised, must be about solving people’s real problems.
Museveni recalled that in response to rising poverty, he introduced three early interventions: Entandikwa (interest-free capital at sub-county level), Universal Primary Education (UPE), and land reforms enshrined in the Constitution and the Land Act.
Although implementation weaknesses slowed progress, he persisted with successive wealth-creation initiatives including NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), Emyooga, Youth and Women Funds
He revealed that by 2019, 61% of households had joined the money economy, leaving 39% still trapped in subsistence production,
Operation Wealth Creation, he said, significantly reduced subsistence levels, in part due to the decision to deploy the army up to sub-county level to supervise distribution of seedlings and agricultural inputs
But complaints that programmes were benefitting only connected individuals — “Begabila bokka” — prompted the introduction of the Parish Development Model (PDM)
Under PDM, funds are managed through parish-level SACCOs where communities elect their own committees and prioritise beneficiaries. “Where it has been done well, the people are very happy,” Museveni observed, noting testimonies from wananchi during the campaigns who described PDM as the “silver bullet” to many of their problems
He indicated that more money will continue to be channelled through PDM, stressing that poverty eradication is central to fighting unemployment.
The Three-Pronged Strategy
Addressing district leaders, Museveni proposed a clear three-pronged strategy to consolidate Uganda’s socio-economic transformation:
1. Empower the Masses
The first pillar focuses on lifting households from subsistence to participation in the money economy. Through PDM, Emyooga and other pro-mass interventions, the President said leaders must ensure every parish benefits equitably.
“First buyer is our people,” he explained. If households have income, they will purchase more locally produced goods, creating internal demand and stimulating growth.
Ending poverty among the 39% still outside the money economy will increase consumption of products such as milk, maize, coffee and manufactured goods, strengthening domestic markets.
District chairpersons were urged to supervise these programmes closely, ensure transparency, and use government funds strictly to solve people’s problems.
2. Transformation of the economy
The second pillar is structural transformation — moving Uganda from a predominantly agrarian economy to one driven by value addition, manufacturing and services.
Museveni called for stronger support to manufacturers and the service sector through institutions such as the Uganda Development Bank (UDB). He emphasised the need to tackle bottlenecks in industrial parks, including electricity, roads and water, to enhance productivity.
He reminded leaders that production has already expanded significantly — coffee rising from 3 million to 9 million bags, milk to 5.3 billion litres, maize to 5 million tonnes, and substantial growth in livestock and other commodities
The task now is to add value and industrialise.
3. Market Expansion
The third pillar is expanding markets. Museveni stressed that domestic demand must come first. As poverty declines and incomes rise, internal consumption will grow, creating a stable base for producers.
From there, Uganda can expand into regional and continental markets under Pan-African frameworks.
“Increasing demand for local products will then progress to regional markets,” he indicated, linking poverty eradication directly to economic growth.
A Political Mandate for Economic Action
Museveni said the positive campaign atmosphere he witnessed across 143 rallies in 153 districts reflected growing public appreciation of pro-mass programmes. But he warned that complacency among leaders — what he termed “Najja-kulya” politics — risks undermining progress
He therefore urged district chairpersons to stay grounded, work closely with communities, and ensure government resources are used to solve real problems rather than serve narrow interests.
The President framed the electoral victory as not merely political, but economic in mandate.
“The struggle now is against poverty,” he signalled. “If we solve the mikyeno of the masses, there will be cohesion, growth and prosperity.”
For NRM district leaders, the directive is clear: mobilise every parish, strengthen implementation of government programmes, expand household incomes, and turn political support into tangible economic transformation.
The meeting was also attended by NRM party Central Executive Committee Members as well as the leadership of the NRM Secretariat. The party Deputy Secretary General Rose Namayanja, who led the secretariat team hailed the victory of the NRM presidential flagbearer stating that the difference of more than 5m votes from the runnerup is a testimony of the unity of Ugandans behind Museveni message.
Hon Namayanja stated that the 3´-pronged campaign strategy was the key to the success. She explained that the party chairman devised the strategy, which was carried by the zonal leaders from the secretariat and executed by the district chairpersons who executed the strategy at the grassroots.
She noted that at the beginning of the campaign, the party chairman guided that votes are not at the secretariat, neither are they at district but at grassroots and the results at presidential and parliament level are testimony. She scoffed at politicians claiming there was rigging, stating that the fact that the Opposition was beated at all levels renders the argument of rigging as hollow.