Museveni Opens 4th NRM National Conference, Rallies Delegates to Fight Poverty and Corruption

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has today opened the 1st Meeting of the 4th National Conference of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, rallying delegates to embrace discipline, fight poverty and corruption, and ensure every Ugandan household joins the money economy.

Accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni, the President, who also serves as the NRM National Chairman, addressed thousands of delegates drawn from across the country. The conference will elect leaders representing special interest groups, including youth, the elderly, workers, and persons with disabilities, while also charting the Movement’s future direction.

In his keynote address, President Museveni welcomed the growing number of young delegates, describing their presence as a sign of generational renewal. He urged them to uphold the NRM’s core principles of patriotism, Pan-Africanism, democracy, and socio-economic transformation, and to take the party’s vision deeper into households across Uganda.

Reflecting on Uganda’s economic journey, the President traced the country’s transformation from the difficult days of “minimum recovery,” when basic commodities like sugar, salt, and soap were scarce, to what he now calls the “take-off stage.” He cited milestones such as the production of vehicles by Kiira Motors, the establishment of vaccine manufacturing facilities, and the rapid growth of ICT as evidence of Uganda’s entry into the industrial age.

“We are no longer in recovery; Uganda is in the take-off stage. We are now manufacturing our own cars, producing vaccines, and building an ICT-driven economy,” Museveni said.

Turning to household wealth creation, he stressed that Uganda’s long-term stability depends on every family participating in the money economy. He noted that while in 2013, 68 percent of Ugandans were outside the money economy, recent figures show that 67 percent are now engaged, adding that the government’s target is to leave no family behind.

He gave the example of Joseph Ijaara, a farmer in Serere who maximizes a small piece of land for commercial agriculture, illustrating how households can thrive by embracing at least one of the four pillars of the money economy — agriculture, industry, services, and ICT.

“In the past, towns were only filled with shops, but today we are building towns of factories where people work and earn. That is the NRM difference,” he emphasized.

The President further challenged leaders to return to their communities with a clear mission: “Fight poverty in your families, fight corruption — don’t allow people to eat Parish Development Model (PDM) money. Insist that the police fight crime, and where they fail, report them.”

On social services, Museveni highlighted progress in health through malaria control and immunization drives, but condemned persistent drug theft that undermines treatment. He reaffirmed government plans to expand safe water access in villages nationwide.

In infrastructure, he revealed that every district receives UGX 1.3 billion annually for murram road maintenance, urging that the funds be used properly.

On education, Museveni made a strong commitment to free education in government schools, insisting that fees must be scrapped to ensure universal access. “Once the NRM is voted again, we shall insist on free education in all government schools. Support me so we can fully implement it,” he pledged.

Other speakers included NRM Secretary General Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, who reminded delegates that the Movement is bigger than any individual and that leadership must be viewed as service rather than self-enrichment. He urged them to embody discipline, sacrifice, and responsibility, noting that while elections come and go, the Movement and the people remain.

Dr. Tanga Odoi, the Chairman of the NRM Electoral Commission, also assured delegates of free and fair elections for special interest group leaders and subsequent polls in the days ahead.