resident Museveni has praised the people of Yumbe District for their loyalty to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and their steady progress under the government's development agenda.
He also announced plans to establish an industrial park in the district to create jobs for the youth.
Museveni, who is also the NRM presidential flag bear was on Thursday campaigning at Gera Primary School Playgrounds, Yumbe district.
He commended the district for embracing the NRM principles of peace, unity, and prosperity.
Reflecting on Yumbe’s transformation, Museveni noted that when the government first discussed granting it district status, its population was around 100,000.
Today, he said, the figure has surpassed one million—growth he attributed to NRM’s healthcare interventions, including immunization and improved services.
“Yumbe is a good example of what steady progress looks like under peace and good governance. Our biggest achievement as the NRM is peace—something Uganda had not seen in over 500 years,” Museveni said.
He emphasized that peace was achieved because the NRM rejected the divisive politics of tribalism and religious sectarianism, focusing instead on unity and shared national interests.
“We do not believe in the politics of sectarianism. We value all Ugandans equally, and that’s why the NRM wins the majority in elections,” he said.
Museveni added that peace had enabled the formation of strong national institutions like the army and the judiciary.
He also identified development as the second pillar of the NRM, pointing to the construction of roads, hospitals, schools, and electrification projects.
However, he warned citizens against confusing development with wealth creation.
“You cannot sleep on a tarmac road. Development benefits everyone, but wealth creation benefits individual families,” he said.
The president said the NRM has consistently championed household income generation since 1996, citing successful cases from the Ankole cattle corridor. He urged Ugandans to take advantage of government programs like Emyooga, NAADS, and the Parish Development Model (PDM) to join the money economy.
Under the PDM, he explained, each parish receives shs 100 million annually, along with shs 15 million for leaders. Over five years, each parish will have received shs 570 million, with borrowers expected to repay loans at a 6% interest rate after a two-year grace period.
Museveni also revealed plans to introduce a special fund for unemployed university graduates as well as support for religious and cultural leaders, all aimed at eradicating household poverty.
He said the distribution of seedlings to farmers would continue to support rural enterprise.
“Factories and individual businesses create more jobs than government offices. While government employs only 480,000 people, the factories built under the NRM have created 1.3 million jobs,” Museveni said.
He cited the example of Transport State Minister Fred Byamukama, who uses the four-acre model to employ 26 people through piggery, poultry, and dairy farming.
Museveni thanked the people of Yumbe for offering land for industrial development, promising that it would be turned into a full-scale industrial park similar to those in Namanve and Mbale.
“I am very glad for the land you have given. We shall develop it into an industrial park to create jobs for your people,” he said.
He reiterated NRM’s core message: peace, development, and jobs.
NRM Vice Chairman for Northern Uganda, Denis Hamson Obua, thanked the President for his consistent leadership and for implementing development programs that continue to benefit the people of Yumbe.
Yumbe’s Development Indicators
Yumbe District currently has 26 sub-counties and town councils, 197 parishes, and 1,159 villages, with a population of 945,100 according to the 2024 census. The number of registered voters has risen to 122,184, across 363 polling stations.
Under the Parish Development Model, the district’s 197 parishes have cumulatively received shs 59.9 billion, with over 97% disbursed to 58,334 beneficiary households.
There are 57 Emyooga SACCOs with 16,184 members and total government support of shs 2.01 billion.
In education, Yumbe has 143 government primary schools, 41 private primary schools, 10 government secondary schools, and two private secondary schools. Six seed secondary schools are under construction or design, which will reduce the number of sub-counties without government secondary schools from 16 to 10.
In health, the district hosts Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital, two HCIVs and 19 HCIIIs, meaning 22 of the 26 sub-counties have access to health facilities at HCIII level or higher.
Ongoing upgrades at the referral hospital include a 300-bed ward, 95 staff houses, and new maternity and outpatient units.
In the water sector, 940 out of 1,159 villages—or 77% coverage—have access to safe water. The Ala-Ora piped water project under construction is expected to extend services to more villages in Ariwa Sub-County, with further expansion planned across Kochi, Bijjo, Lodonga, and Lobe Town Council.
