President Museveni has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to improving the welfare of public servants, including teachers, but emphasized that Uganda must first consolidate its development foundations before increasing salaries.
Speaking at a mega campaign rally held at Paridi Stadium in Adjumani Town Council on Monday, the president, who is also the NRM presidential candidate for the 2026 elections, concluded his West Nile sub-region campaign trail with a call for patience and focus on national priorities that sustain peace and shared growth.
“We are not against the salaries of public servants, but first of all, peace, the roads, electricity, health, and schools—then we can add on other things,” he said.
Museveni said that while calls for salary increments, especially from striking teachers, were understandable, national transformation could not be achieved through short-term demands.
“You have been hearing the teachers striking, saying that they want more salary. But is it correct to pay public servants more money when the roads are not done? Is it fair?” he asked, drawing loud applause from supporters.
The Adjumani rally marked the climax of President Museveni’s tour across the West Nile sub-region, where he traversed multiple districts to promote the NRM’s core campaign themes: peace, development, and wealth creation.
Flanked by top NRM officials, the president used the rally to explain why government spending priorities have remained anchored in national infrastructure and social services, drawing from his own experience in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), whose officers, he said, endured years of low pay for the sake of national peace.
“We in the UPDF have been fighting for no pay or low pay for the last 55 years because we could not demand a high salary from our mother, Uganda, when we knew that our mother did not have enough money,” Museveni said.
“What sort of a child are you when you come to a mother demanding more money, well knowing she does not have enough? The money of Uganda is public; it is in the budget. So, we must agree that roads must be tarmacked, and the murram roads must be maintained because the road affects the public servant and everyone else,” he stressed, while pointing out specific road projects in poor condition, including the Pakele–Pabo road and the Adjumani–Obongi route, pledging government intervention.
“The security road from Pakele to Pabo is in bad condition and must be worked on. The road from Adjumani to Obongi is also in bad condition but we have finished the road from Gulu to Atiak to Adjumani, and we are continuing,” the President said.
He reminded supporters that before the NRM government came to power, the tarmac road network ended at Gulu, but has since been extended northwards to Atiak, Adjumani, Laropi, Moyo, Yumbe, and Koboko, opening up trade and security access to border areas.
“Once we agree on the budgeting—what comes first—things will move,” he said. “If there’s extra, then we can do other things. But let’s do the minimum first: the roads, the electricity, the schools, and the hospitals.”
Museveni's comments come on the backdrop of the end of a month-long strike by arts teachers allover the country over salary increment.
The teachers under their umbrella body, the Uganda National Teachers Union put down tools at the beginning of the new term seeking government to increase their salary to the same level as theri science counterparts.
They were however convicned to resume work as government promised to address their grievances.
