President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has expressed gratitude to members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) following his official endorsement as both the party’s National Chairman and Presidential Flag Bearer for the 2026 general elections.
The endorsement was made during the NRM National Delegates’ Conference held at Kololo Independence Grounds on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, where thousands of party delegates gathered in support.
In his address, President Museveni thanked the delegates for once again placing their confidence in his leadership, promising that he would not disappoint them.
“I thank you for again putting your trust in me to be your chairman of the NRM for the period 2026 to 2031. I also thank you so much for endorsing me as the flag bearer for the presidential contest,” Museveni said.
He assured party members of his commitment, declaring, “I will not let you down. We have more capacity now than ever before.”
Museveni revealed that he was endorsed unopposed for both positions, alongside Al-Hajji Moses Kigongo, who also retained his role as NRM’s First National Vice Chairperson. “Thank you so much, NRM members,” the President added.
Turning his focus to the country’s development agenda, Museveni urged Ugandans to place greater emphasis on wealth creation at the household level rather than depending exclusively on public infrastructure projects.
“You don’t sleep on the road, in the hospital, or in the school you go back home,” he said. “And in your home, if there’s no food, no jobs, and there’s poverty, then development means nothing. So, wealth creation is key.”
He emphasized that while national projects such as roads, hospitals, and schools remain important, true transformation begins in homes where income-generating activities sustain livelihoods.
The President highlighted commercial agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, ICT, and transport as the critical sectors that can drive prosperity for both individuals and the nation.
Unveiling a bold economic vision, Museveni announced a target of expanding Uganda’s economy from its current $66 billion to $500 billion within the next 15 years.
He traced Uganda’s progress from independence in 1962, when the economy was largely subsistence-based, to the present, where the NRM government has expanded production and embraced value addition.
“When we came into power in 1986, only 9% of Ugandan households were part of the money economy. We expanded cash crops and moved into value addition. Today, we are entering a knowledge-based economy,” Museveni said.
The President also pointed to Uganda’s advancements in innovation, citing electric vehicle development through the locally-assembled Kiira EV as a symbol of the country’s technological progress.
“We are now a lower middle-income country,” Museveni noted, while setting his sights higher. “But our target is to become an upper middle-income country soon. A modern society must depend on knowledge, skills, and innovation not just muscle.”
