Museveni Warns Against Corruption, Poor Service Delivery at NRM Leaders’ Meeting

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has met National Resistance Movement (NRM) chairpersons for districts, cities, municipalities, and divisions at State House Entebbe.

During the meeting which took place on Friday evening, President Museveni, who also serves as National Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), congratulated the leaders on their victory in the recently concluded elections.

He observed that the elections demonstrated stronger national cohesion compared to previous cycles, likening it to the unity witnessed during the 1996 elections, when, he noted, Ugandans rallied behind the NRM due to its problem-solving approach.

The President attributed this cohesion to what he described as “okukyenura”—responsive leadership that addresses people’s needs. He cited the restoration of national security through a disciplined army and the stabilization of essential commodities such as sugar in the early years of NRM governance.

He explained that after 1996, challenges such as household poverty became more apparent, prompting the introduction of revolving funds at sub-county level in 1997 to support wealth creation. Subsequent interventions, including the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), were rolled out to distribute seedlings and boost agricultural productivity. However, he noted that a significant proportion of the population remained outside the money economy.

This, he said, led to the introduction of the Parish Development Model (PDM), designed to channel funds directly to beneficiaries while empowering parish committees to transparently determine allocations. President Museveni reported that PDM is performing well in some districts and pledged that additional funding would be provided to enhance its impact, urging party leaders to closely monitor its implementation.

On education, the President said the NRM anticipated a looming crisis and introduced free education to expand access. However, he expressed concern over what he described as sabotage by some teachers and inadequate supervision by leaders.

He also raised concerns about corruption, particularly within some District Service Commissions accused of selling jobs, cases of land grabbing, and theft of medicines from government health facilities. He called on NRM leaders to intensify supervision and enforce accountability.

President Museveni further criticized poor road maintenance and substandard works, attributing part of the problem to weak budgeting priorities, including the creation of new districts and municipalities at the expense of essential service delivery.

On job creation, he emphasized agriculture as the primary source of employment, with manufacturing and services providing higher-value jobs. He pledged that in the coming term, he would produce more literature focused on addressing the needs of the masses and consolidating socio-economic transformation.

He stressed that beyond programs such as PDM and Emyooga, there is a need to strengthen the private sector through affordable financing, particularly via the Uganda Development Bank, to enable enterprises to expand.

President Museveni added that once production challenges are addressed, attention must shift to markets, noting that local consumers are the first buyers. Increased household incomes, he said, would stimulate demand for products such as milk, cement, and steel, eventually driving expansion into regional markets.

The NRM Deputy Secretary General, Hon. Rose Namayanja, congratulated President Museveni on what she described as a landslide presidential victory, saying it reflects the party’s commitment to visionary leadership and service delivery.

Meanwhile, the NRM Chairperson for Gulu District, Mr. Christopher Ochen, thanked the President for empowering party structures to effectively campaign during the elections, which he said contributed to the overwhelming support. He requested that district chairpersons be incorporated into District Executive Committees to strengthen oversight of government programs.

Mr. JB Wamala Ssalongo, NRM Chairperson for Mukono Municipality, appealed for municipality and city chairpersons to be represented on the National Executive Committee, similar to their district counterparts, to promote inclusive participation in party decision-making.