Lwengo District, Uganda: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has rallied residents of Lwengo District to prioritise wealth creation and abandon subsistence living, describing income generation as the most sustainable path to defeating poverty.
Addressing supporters during an NRM campaign rally in Lwengo on Friday, December 19, Museveni said Uganda’s stability over the last four decades has provided a firm foundation for development and economic transformation.
He attributed the country’s peace and stability to the rejection of sectarian politics and the consolidation of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), which he said has widened political participation for women, youth and other special interest groups.
The President highlighted infrastructure development as a critical government intervention, noting that several key roads in the region are either under rehabilitation or planned for construction.
He cited the Masaka–Lyantonde road, which he said was in a poor state when the NRM took power in 1986, and assured residents that other routes, including Mutukula, Sembabule–Mbirizi and Kyabakuza–Kiwanga roads, would be worked on to improve connectivity and trade.
Museveni, however, cautioned that infrastructure alone cannot eliminate poverty. “You cannot sleep on roads,” he said, urging households to engage in productive, income-generating activities.
He pointed to government programmes promoting commercial agriculture, particularly coffee growing, revealing that more than one million coffee seedlings and 280,000 orange seedlings have been distributed in Lwengo District alone.
On job creation, Museveni said government’s role is to create an enabling environment for investment, noting that in developed economies most jobs are created by the private sector.
He cited the example of a farmer from Busoga who abandoned the search for a government job, ventured into commercial farming and now employs more than 300 people.
Speaker of Parliament and NRM Second National Vice Chairperson (Female) Anita Annet Among called for increased funding to the Land Fund to facilitate compensation of absentee landlords, enabling sitting tenants to acquire land titles.
Among also said coffee farmers in Lwengo require a coffee grading machine to support value addition and urged local leaders to work collectively to implement NRM programmes.
The NRM Vice Chairperson for Buganda Region Hon Kyeyune Haruna Kasolo commended the government for empowering women and youth, saying the NRM manifesto offers clear opportunities for young people.
He praised Lwengo voters for electing NRM-leaning Members of Parliament and reaffirmed the party’s commitment to transforming livelihoods in the district.
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