President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has outlined the National Resistance Movement’s key contributions to Uganda, urging leaders from Acholi and Adjumani to take a clear and unified message on peace, wealth creation and development to the grassroots.
The President met local leaders at Awich Primary Teachers’ College in Laroo Pece Division, Gulu City, on Friday, January 9, 2026, saying the engagement was meant to equip them with practical answers to questions Ugandans continue to ask about poverty, jobs and national progress.
“I am equipping you with what to tell the people you lead because they have questions in their heads. How do we get out of poverty? Where do jobs come from?” President Museveni said.
He explained that the meeting was a continuation of parish-level conferences and noted that he had authored a booklet detailing what he described as the NRM’s seven contributions to Uganda over the past 40 years.
President Museveni said peace remains the movement’s most fundamental achievement, arguing that Uganda’s past instability was driven by sectarian, tribal and religious politics.
“Because we rejected sectarian politics and embraced patriotism and Pan-Africanism, we were able to build a national party and strong national institutions such as the army and police,” he said.
He added that peace created the conditions for unity, surplus production and development through market integration, unlike in the 1960s when politics fragmented the country.
On development, President Museveni pointed to visible infrastructure improvements, including tarmac roads linking Adjumani, Gulu and other regions, electricity expansion, railways and related projects.
Turning to wealth creation, the President reiterated the four-acre farming model as a practical pathway for households with limited land.
Under the model, farmers are encouraged to grow coffee on one acre, fruits on the second, pasture for dairy cattle on the third, and food crops for home consumption on the fourth, alongside poultry, piggery for non-Muslims and fish farming near wetlands.
“If you do these activities with calculation, ekibaaro or cuura, you cannot go wrong,” President Museveni said.
He added that government plans are underway to promote valley fishponds, citing a successful pilot project in Limoto.
The President described the NRM as a party of enlightenment that prioritises telling people the truth, stressing that irrigation is central to modern agriculture.
He cited government plantations in Bushenyi where irrigation and fertiliser use have enabled banana yields of up to 53 tonnes, far higher than surrounding farms.
On livestock restocking, President Museveni acknowledged that war and cattle rustling had devastated herds in Acholi, Lango and Teso.
He said consultations with affected communities led to an agreement to provide monetary compensation instead of livestock, with arrangements now in place to support restocking.
Addressing job creation, the President said employment is generated mainly through commercial agriculture and industrialisation, urging leaders to explain this clearly to their communities.
He also highlighted regional integration as a critical NRM contribution, warning leaders against ignoring Africa’s vast market.
“If you don’t talk about Africa and its market, what is the future of our grandchildren?” he asked.
President Museveni urged NRM leaders to lead by example, cautioning against remaining in “chan chan” and encouraging them to build “lonyo” within their households.
“It is not good for leaders to be poor. Every NRM leader must work hard to be prosperous and show the people the way,” he said.
To support grassroots mobilisation, the President pledged to provide bicycles to LCI leaders to ease their movement, while LC III leaders will receive motorcycles.
The NRM Vice Chairperson for Northern Uganda, Hamson Obua, assured the President of strong support, saying the campaign strategy in the region had shifted to grassroots mobilisation.
He said Northern Uganda would adopt a collective “factor tree” approach, where leaders mobilise voters together to ensure broad-based backing for President Museveni and the NRM.
