{"id":17151,"date":"2026-01-11T14:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/17151\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T14:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:09:11","slug":"ugandas-prosperity-tied-to-african-markets-says-muse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/17151\/","title":{"rendered":"Uganda’s prosperity tied to African markets, says Muse"},"content":{"rendered":"

___________________<\/p>\n

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, on Saturday, January 10, met National Resistance Movement (NRM) local leaders in Kampala, using the engagement to reflect on Uganda\u2019s economic transformation, the importance of African markets, and the principles that have sustained national unity and peace.<\/p>\n

The meeting held at the National ICT Hub in Nakawa followed an earlier engagement with NRM leaders in Busoga, highlighting what the President described as the interconnectedness of Uganda\u2019s regions and their shared economic interests.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Addressing the leaders led by Aminah Nanziri Lukanga, the NRM Woman MP flag bearer for Kampala City, President Museveni pointed to Uganda\u2019s shift from dependency to production, citing concrete examples from agriculture and industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cUganda used to smuggle sugar from outside. Today, we produce about 700,000 tonnes, yet our internal consumption is only 300,000 tonnes,\u201d President Museveni said, noting that without regional markets, such industries would stagnate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He said milk production had reached about 5.3 billion litres annually, while domestic consumption stood at less than one billion litres, leaving a surplus of over four billion litres. Similar trends, he added, are evident in cement, timber and other sectors.<\/p>\n

According to the President, these realities explain why Uganda\u2019s prosperity cannot be separated from Africa\u2019s wider market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is when we realised that we need Africa. Pan-Africanism is not emotional; it is about prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

President Museveni linked this outlook to the founding philosophy of the National Resistance Movement, which rejected politics based on identity in favour of shared interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor wealth creation, identity is secondary. What matters is what you produce and who can buy it,\u201d he said, using his own farming experience to illustrate how national and regional markets sustain livelihoods beyond ethnic or religious lines.<\/p>\n

He said this thinking enabled the NRM to build a national party capable of uniting Ugandans and sustaining peace.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we say NRM has kept peace, it is because we rejected politics of identity and focused on interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The President also reflected on the NRM\u2019s 40-year journey, describing peace as the first \u201cbrick\u201d upon which other achievements were built. Without stability, he said, progress in infrastructure, education, health and wealth creation would not have been possible.<\/p>\n

Drawing from traditional Banyankore wisdom, President Museveni explained the concept of okwombeka- to build not merely as constructing houses, but as building sustainable livelihoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkwombeka is building a life: creating wealth, raising a family and solving problems at the household level,\u201d he said, urging leaders to look beyond physical infrastructure and focus on economic activity within homes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He commended government programmes such as Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM), describing them as deliberate efforts to move wealth creation directly to families.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we introduced Entandikwa, Emyooga, Operation Wealth Creation and PDM\u2014to ensure households work and create wealth,\u201d President Museveni said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Uganda\u2019s political history, President Museveni warned against repeating mistakes rooted in identity-based politics, which he said failed to address people\u2019s real needs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you are from this tribe or that religion, your needs are the same; education, health, jobs and income,\u201d he said, stressing that misdiagnosis of national problems had previously led the country into crisis.<\/p>\n

The President concluded by reiterating that Uganda\u2019s future lies in unity, productive work, regional cooperation and values which he said remain central to the NRM\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very happy to be with you,\u201d President Museveni told the leaders, expressing confidence that the principles that guided the movement\u2019s past would continue to secure Uganda\u2019s stability and prosperity.<\/p>\n

In her remarks, Lukanga welcomed President Museveni and thanked him for the guidance and clarity he provided on Uganda\u2019s economic prospects.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank the President for his leadership and for reminding us that our focus must remain on creating wealth for Ugandans and strengthening unity across regions,\u201d Lukanga said.<\/p>\n

She urged local leaders to take the President\u2019s message to heart, especially the emphasis on patriotic service and accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs leaders of Kampala, we commit to supporting initiatives that drive household income, strengthen markets and uphold the values of patriotism and unity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must continue to work closely with communities, listen to their concerns and ensure that the programs designed to uplift families are implemented effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meeting was attended by NRM Local Council I and II leaders, councillors, and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"___________________ President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, on Saturday, January 10, met National Resistance Movement (NRM) local leaders in Kampala,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[261,473,153,9234,1420],"class_list":{"0":"post-17151","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uganda","8":"tag-politics","9":"tag-president-yoweri-museveni","10":"tag-uganda","11":"tag-uganda-economy","12":"tag-uganda-elections-2026"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}