MUSEVENI TELLS KAMPALA YOUTH TO TURN CITY DEVELOPMENT INTO PERSONAL WEALTH

President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday challenged Kampala’s youth to turn visible city development into personal income, saying roads, power lines and buildings only matter if they translate into food on the table.

Speaking at a campaign rally at Buziga Islamic Primary School grounds in Makindye Division, Museveni pointed to visible changes in Kampala, citing projects such as the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway, the Northern Bypass, upgraded city roads and improved street lighting.

“You can move on a good expressway, you can use the bypass, you can pass on good tarmac,” Museveni said. “But you don’t sleep on the road. You must go back home and sometimes poverty is waiting for you there,” he added, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Arriving at about 12:30 p.m. with First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni, the president said infrastructure development across Kampala and other parts of the country has laid a foundation, but wealth must now be built at household level.

Museveni, quoted an old Lusoga saying, Akange kakira akaife, loosely meaning what belongs to an individual, matters more than what is shared. Roads, electricity and hospitals, he said, belong to everyone, but wealth and poverty remain personal.

The president said this thinking shaped the National Resistance Movement’s focus on wealth creation since 1996, when sectors such as commercial agriculture, manufacturing, artisanship, digital innovation and services were identified as key income drivers.

He said government programs are designed to help Ugandans turn opportunity into income. These include the Parish Development Model (PDM), which equips communities with skills and resources to generate local income; the Skilling Uganda programs, which train youth in trades and digital skills; and Emyooga, which provides capital to organized groups, youth, and women to start businesses among others.

Turning directly to ghetto youth and boda boda riders, Museveni urged them to organize themselves into groups, promising government support for those willing to work collectively.

“Money is coming,” he said, with a cautionary smile. “The government has opened doors. But you must walk through them and organize yourselves to benefit.”

First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni encouraged Ugandans to vote in large numbers, describing participation in elections as part of national responsibility. She called on young people to protect peace, unity and stability.

Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among echoed the president’s message, saying many urban youth are not lazy but lack start-up capital. She pointed to groups such as “7 Hills,” once associated with insecurity, whose members are now involved in cleaning the city.

“These young people want to work,” Among said. “They only need support.”

She raised concern about the welfare of city cleaners, who earn about UGX 6,000 per day, and called for better pay, saying improved livelihoods would strengthen the city’s night economy.

Museveni later proceeded to Nakawa Division, where he addressed another rally at Makerere University Business School grounds, continuing his appeal to youth to turn opportunity, organization and development into lasting income.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki, KCCA Deputy Executive Director Benon Kigenyi, and other local leaders also attended the two rallies.

By Geofrey Mutegeki Araali

Communication and Media Relations Officer