News
Museveni Vows to Lead Uganda into $500bn Economy After Accepting To Stay ‘on the main’
Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has officially been nominated as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flagbearer for the 2026 presidential elections and party chairman for the 2025–2031 term.
In a landmark speech delivered at the nomination ceremony on Saturday, Museveni outlined an ambitious roadmap to transform Uganda from a lower-middle-income economy into a high middle-income country, with a projected GDP of $500 billion “well before 2040.”
Standing before party leaders and jubilant supporters, Museveni stated: “I am responding to the millions of Ugandans who have been ordering me with the slogan: ‘Tova Ku Main’—Do not leave the main electricity line.”
‘Tova Ku Main’ was a campaign run by the Office of the NRM National Chairman manager by SPA/PA Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye, who traversed the country garnering signatures to endorse President Museveni’s extension at the helm of Uganda’s leadership.
He emphasized that his decision to run again is rooted in a mission to consolidate past victories and lead the country into a new era of economic transformation.
A 60-Year Journey of Transformation
Museveni’s speech traced Uganda’s evolution under the NRM, from a fragmented, economically battered country in 1986 to one that is now politically stable and economically resurgent. He credited the NRM for the country’s key milestones:
-
Political and institutional stabilization post-1986
-
Recovery of the economy and elimination of basic commodity shortages
-
Expansion of the production base and diversification of income sources
-
Introduction of value addition and the knowledge economy
“Our economy has grown from $3.9 billion in 1986 to $61 billion today, and by the Purchasing Power Parity method, it stands at $172.2 billion,” he said.
“This means Uganda is no longer a Least Developed Country.”
Two Key Missions for the Next Five Years
Museveni outlined two core reasons for seeking a new mandate:
-
Clarifying the Path to Prosperity:
He stressed the importance of understanding six fundamental pillars—peace, development, wealth creation, jobs, services, and markets—as necessary conditions for national prosperity. He called for greater appreciation of how private sector wealth creation (through farming, factories, services, and ICT) leads to mass employment. -
Triggering a Qualitative Economic Leap:
Museveni called for aggressive investment in value addition and the knowledge economy, citing examples like coffee, tin, gold, and copper. He noted that while raw coffee earns Uganda $2.5 per kg, processed coffee fetches up to $40 per kg globally. “We cannot remain raw material exporters,” he warned. “Countries like Germany, which grow no coffee, earn more than $65 billion from it. Uganda must change this dynamic.”
He added: “With full value addition and knowledge-based industries, we shall move Uganda to a $500 billion economy—and beyond.”
Youth, Leadership and Ideological Discipline
Museveni congratulated the millions of new NRM leaders, many of whom are youth, and encouraged them to pursue “productive politics based on ideology, not biology or job-seeking.”
He warned against leadership as a career for personal gain and urged young leaders to be wealth creators themselves.
Quoting scripture and revolutionary history, Museveni reminded the audience: “Our generation left well-paying jobs to liberate Uganda. If we had not, where would this country be?”
Looking Ahead
Museveni concluded with a call to action for national unity and principled leadership:
“Let us continue the march—not only to achieve a high middle-income economy but also strategic security, African brotherhood, and the final liberation of our continent from economic servitude.”
With the 2026 generals elections just a couple of months away, Museveni’s message was clear: the future of Uganda lies in deepening gains, adding value, and completing the historical mission of total transformation.
