President Museveni has urged the people of Buliisa to vote for the ruling NRM party in the forthcoming 2026 general elections.
Addressing a rally at Buliisa Town Council Grounds on Thursday, Museveni reminded residents of the state of their area before the NRM came to power, highlighting the transformation achieved over the last 40 years.
“The people of Buliisa are the best witnesses of development. These tarmac roads all over the area, the electricity, and the schools are fruits of NRM,” Museveni said.
The NRM presidential candidate also responded to claims by some local leaders that the Bagungu have never been appointed to significant positions in government. Museveni dismissed the claims, citing some of his earliest ministers who were Bagungu.
“Among my first ministers were Zack Kaheru and Katongole. These were prominent Bagungu. They studied outside Bugungu because the whole of Bunyoro didn’t have an A-level school at the time. But now you have over five schools in Buliisa alone, which used to be just a sub-county,” he said.
He added that the NRM has visibly contributed to the development of the Buliisa area.
Oil
Museveni told the gathering that government has a clear and elaborate plan for managing the country’s oil resources.
“The issue is that oil is exhaustible. We have 6.5 billion barrels that we can mine for about 25 years, but we want to use it to create durable wealth,” he said.
“Petroleum is finite. What we want is to use what is exhaustible to create wealth that will last forever.”
He noted that countries like Saudi Arabia and Norway have succeeded in converting oil revenue into long-term national wealth, and Uganda can do the same.
“There are those who say we should waste the money on importing perfumes and whiskey, and then nothing remains. We can’t accept this. Countries like Norway and Saudi Arabia have created sovereign funds that generate profits. This is the plan of clever people,” he added.
Wealth Creation
Museveni said that despite the development achieved, there is a need to focus more on wealth creation to enable individuals and households to escape poverty.
He praised the Bagungu for embracing the wealth creation message long ago.
“These Bagungu know this message. They were wealthy even when there was little development in the area. They had cows long ago. That’s why we must differentiate between development and wealth. Wealth is personal, but development is for all of us,” he said.
Museveni explained the four-acre model introduced by government in 1996: one acre for coffee, one for fruit trees, another for pasture for zero-grazing cows, and another for food crops. He added that families should keep poultry and piggery in the backyard, and those near wetlands should practice fish farming.
He insisted that people living near swamps can generate significant wealth through fish farming.
“All people near water with flat land for fish ponds are sitting on a gold mine,” he said.
Museveni noted that this program will be implemented in Busoga, Bukedi, Lango, Buliisa, and other wetland-rich areas.
