Kyankwanzi: Ideology or Idleness?

By Muteesa Daniels Mukasa

Every five years, like clockwork, the hills of Kyankwanzi are transformed into a sea of yellow as the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) gathers its “ideological command centre.” From April 7–15, 2026, the newly elected members of the 12th Parliament have traded their business suits for military fatigues to undergo a week of “orientation.” While party leaders frame this as a vital exercise in patriotism and cohesion, the tax-paying Ugandan looking at a UGX 5,400 fuel receipt is left asking a hard question: is this retreat a productive factory for policy, or is it merely an expensive exercise in political idleness?

The theme of the 2026 retreat—”Aligning the NRM leadership towards protecting the gains”—sounds impressive in a PowerPoint presentation. However, the “gains” being discussed often feel disconnected from the reality of our marketplaces. While MPs-elect receive lectures on “Musevenomics” and mindset change, the public is bracing for a UGX 84.2 trillion budget that proposes new excise duties on fuel and essential goods to fund government spending.

There is a growing “value for money” concern. Critics argue that while the retreat aims to “sharpen the mission,” it often fails to produce actionable strategies for the most pressing issues: rampant corruption (which drains an estimated UGX 10 trillion annually) and the service delivery gaps in our hospitals and schools. When legislators spend ten days in a secluded institute, the danger is that they become better at “party discipline” but worse at listening to the desperate voices of their constituents, who cannot afford the very taxes these MPs are being “oriented” to pass.

While Uganda’s leaders retreat to the hills for ideological lectures, other nations are using their legislative orientations to tackle the very “cost-of-doing-business” issues stalling our economy. We do not have to look far to see more efficient models of governance:

Singapore’s Pro-Business Orientation: In Singapore, new legislators don’t just study “state ideology”; they undergo intensive briefings on global competitiveness and regulatory efficiency. Their “orientation” focuses on how to remove the “red tape” that hinders SMEs. If Uganda’s MPs spent their ten days learning how to slash the 30+ licences required to start a business in Kampala, the retreat would be an investment rather than a cost.

While we discuss hiking fuel taxes in Kyankwanzi, Mauritius remains Africa’s success story by doing the opposite. They utilise a “low-tax, high-compliance” model, offering tax holidays for startups and a simplified 1% presumptive tax for small firms. Their “ideology” is simple: make it so easy to pay taxes that everyone does it. Our MPs should be studying how Mauritius attracts billions in investment rather than how to squeeze more from a boda-boda rider’s tank.

Vietnam, once a struggling agrarian economy like ours, uses its policy retreats to align the state with global supply chains. They focus on “industrial parks” and energy stability. If our Kyankwanzi retreat prioritised a plan to lower the cost of industrial electricity to match Vietnam’s (approx. $0.07/kWh), our “golden goose” (the private sector) would finally have the energy to compete globally.

The 2026 retreat asks MPs to align with the party, but the 50 million Ugandans they represent are asking them to align with reality. As the yellow sea of fatigues fades and the business suits return to Kampala, the question remains: did they go to the hills to find solutions for the people, or just to learn how to explain why there aren’t any? In a country where fuel costs UGX 5,400, patriotism shouldn’t be a lecture—it should be a lower cost of living.

Ultimately, the success of the 12th Parliament will not be measured by how well they march in Kyankwanzi, but by how far the Ugandan shilling marches in a local market. If a week of “ideological sharpening” results in nothing more than a rubber stamp for a UGX 84 trillion budget, then the military fatigues were merely a costume for a very expensive rehearsal. While the leaders protect the gains in the hills, the taxpayer is left in the valley, wondering if they can even afford the fuel to drive past the gates of the institute.

If the 2026 Kyankwanzi retreat is to be more than a taxpayer-funded holiday, it must deliver more than just resolutions of loyalty. Ideology is useless if it does not lead to lower costs of doing business or to the effective implementation of wealth-creation programmes like the Parish Development Model (PDM). The 12th Parliament must leave those hills not just with a better understanding of the NRM’s history, but with a firm commitment to checking government excess. Otherwise, we are simply watching a repeat performance of an old play while the audience—the Ugandan people—continue to suffer in the dark.

The writer is an independent socio-political analyst.