President Museveni has told NRM Members of Parliament that they now have a rare opportunity to make history by transforming Uganda through wealth creation and fighting household poverty.
Addressing legislators during the NRM caucus meeting at State House in Entebbe on Sunday, Museveni reflected on his 65 years in Uganda’s politics, saying many leaders since independence had wasted opportunities by engaging in divisive politics based on tribe, religion and gender instead of focusing on solving the real problems affecting citizens.
“You now have a unique chance to contribute to your country,” Museveni said. “After independence, all those leaders were young people, but they engaged in wrong politics — politics of tribes, religion and gender chauvinism.”
The President stressed that politics should focus on identifying society’s problems and designing solutions rather than concentrating on individuals seeking leadership positions.
“Politics is what is to be done, why and how,” he said. “The mistake is many people spend their time on who and not the what. You cannot get the proper who if you don’t first answer the questions of what, why and how.”
Museveni said the ruling National Resistance Movement had already diagnosed Uganda’s biggest challenge as household poverty and designed programs aimed at addressing it.
“We have already designed programs to deal with the problem of poverty,” he told MPs. “Your mandate is not in India or China but wherever you come from. Go back to your constituency.”
The President argued that Uganda has enormous untapped opportunities in commercial agriculture, saying unemployment persists largely because many people are not utilizing available resources.
“If we go into commercial agriculture, we can create jobs. Therefore, the problem is not jobs but sleeping. People are sleeping,” Museveni said.
He criticized the growing trend of Ugandans seeking jobs abroad, particularly in the Middle East.
“I feel disgusted seeing people going to look for jobs in a desert in Dubai. You leave the Garden of Eden to go to the desert to look for jobs. How do you leave heaven here to look for jobs in a desert?” he asked.
Museveni cited the example of businessman Nyakaana, whom he said earns Shs55 million net per month from egg production alone while employing 26 people.
“These are educated people,” he said, arguing that small-scale commercial agriculture can significantly improve livelihoods if properly embraced.
The President challenged MPs to leave a lasting legacy by helping citizens escape poverty rather than merely enjoying political titles.
“Please MPs, we want you to print your names in the history of Uganda,” Museveni said. “Don’t just come here with titles of Honourable, Right Honourable and Excellence when you solve no problems of society.”
He encouraged leaders from Busoga, Bukedi, Teso, parts of Lango and Central Uganda to move away from less productive economic activities and embrace ventures such as fish farming and modern agriculture.
“The medicine is there. We have already identified it,” he said.
Museveni also urged legislators to monitor government wealth-creation initiatives such as Emyooga and support artisanship, manufacturing, services and ICT development in their constituencies.
“In your constituency, find out how many artisan groups are there and how much money for Emyooga is there, who took how much and who has not paid back,” he said.
The President emphasized that leaders should prioritize helping ordinary Ugandans improve their livelihoods rather than focusing on wealthy elites.
“I am a rich man and don’t need anything from anybody,” Museveni said. “I am concerned more about the small-scale people.”
He concluded by calling on MPs to use government resources effectively to eliminate poverty and unemployment across the country.
“Let us get rid of poverty through commercial agriculture, artisanship, manufacturing, services and ICT,” Museveni said.
