When President Museveni decided to write to the nation on August 5, 2025, he revived an old but increasingly relevant memory: a time when Uganda’s infrastructure dreams were dictated, delayed—or outright denied—by foreign donors.
The President recalled how, just two decades ago, major road projects and power transmission lines were largely in the hands of international partners, and how their last-minute withdrawals forced Uganda into a sobering reckoning.
“The donors had promised to do the Kampala-Masaka, Kampala-Mityana roads, and the electricity line from Kilak to Patongo and Kalongo,” Museveni said.
“Then, all of a sudden, they changed their minds. No explanations. Just no.”
For Museveni, this moment wasn’t just a setback—it was a turning point. And it laid the foundation for a philosophy that would redefine the country’s infrastructure journey: build with what we have, not what we’re promised.
The frustration of watching vital roads languish while Uganda waited on foreign goodwill echoed loudly.
“What is the purpose of doing Masaka-Kabale but not Kampala-Masaka?” he asked rhetorically. “It is the one that leads to the other two.”
Even more vividly, he invoked a Runyankore proverb to describe Uganda’s unhealthy dependence: “Etajugirwe Nyoko, kwobona ekireengye, oti nariiire”—“a cow that was not part of your mother’s bride price; even if they give you the hoof, you say you've already eaten well.”
Uganda’s response, under his directive, was dramatic but deliberate: scale back the waiting and scale up domestic investment, especially in roads and electricity.
“From then on,” he said, “I told our people to forget the donors. We build our country ourselves.”
Data from the Ministry of Finance confirms this pivot. In the 2005/06 financial year, Uganda allocated just Shs374 billion to roads and Shs133 billion to electricity.
But by 2019, the road budget had jumped to Shs4.467 trillion, and electricity spending reached Shs2.393 trillion—all from domestic revenue.
In FY2024/25, the infrastructure budget, including other transport components, crossed the Shs5.9 trillion mark.
This bold shift enabled Uganda to complete key tarmac roads previously stalled or abandoned by donors.
Museveni listed some of them proudly: Soroti–Moroto, Mbarara–Kikagate, Lyantonde–Kazo–Kamwenge–Fort Portal, Mpigi–Ssembabule–Masaka, and Mubende–Kakumiro–Kagadi. Notably, several of these corridors link strategic border points, mineral-rich zones, and underserved sub-regions.
Museveni came to power in 1986 when his guerrillas overran the governments of the time. It is reported that there was barely 1,000km of paved national roads.
However, as of mid-2025, the government reports a total of 6,199km of tarmac roads on the national road network - implying that the NRM government has seen an increase of about 5,200km of paved roads.
While the figure pales in comparison to regional countries like Kenya and Tanzania over the same period, Mr Museveni's government does not blink twice without praising itself on the transformation.
Equally transformative was the expansion of the national electricity grid. Using internally raised funds and innovative mechanisms like the Energy Fund, Uganda completed projects like Bujagali Dam and extended transmission lines to Kitgum, Moroto, Kalongo, and Bundibugyo.
By 2024, every Ugandan district except Buvuma and Obongi had access to grid electricity—a milestone rarely acknowledged in the public discourse.
This shift from donor dependency to internal resource mobilization didn't come without challenges. Between 2005 and 2020, Uganda's domestic revenue efforts had to intensify dramatically.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) increased annual collections from Shs2.1 trillion in 2003 to over Shs23 trillion by FY2023/24, a tenfold rise that made infrastructure investment possible even as debt servicing also climbed.
There were also political costs. Some civil service and teacher wage demands had to be deferred, sparking strikes and resentment.
“People were asking for more pay while the house was still on fire,” Museveni said, referring to the post-conflict economy in the early 2000s.
“When the house is burning, the priority is to put out the fire—not to prepare a bed.”
Despite these trade-offs, there is broad recognition that Uganda’s self-funded infrastructure model has delivered tangible gains.
The World Bank’s 2023 Uganda Economic Update acknowledged the country’s “notable improvement in transport connectivity and electricity access, driven primarily by government-financed capital expenditure.”
Yet the sustainability of this model remains in question. Uganda’s public debt stood at Shs96.1 trillion by the end of FY2023/24, and key voices in Parliament have begun asking whether road cost inflation and weak procurement oversight are eroding the very efficiency Museveni touts.
In fact, the President himself hinted at this, saying: “I have also heard some stories that there may be inflation of costs in some of the roads. Stay tuned.”
Still, Museveni remains confident that the NRA-born philosophy of focused investment and self-reliance remains valid.
“One by one makes a bundle,” he reminded the country. “The hen pecks what it can swallow.”
Uganda’s infrastructure journey, once paced by donor spreadsheets and foreign missions, is now charted by domestic priorities and local revenue.
Whether this path can be sustained under the pressure of growing expectations and election cycles is another matter.
But for now, the gamble to build without donors appears to have paid off—at least in tarmac and transmission lines.