President Museveni, the NRM presidential candidate on Saturday started his campaign trail in the Busoga sub-region, beginning in Bugiri District.
He was accompanied by the First National Vice Chairman of the NRM, Alhaji Moses Kigongo, and other senior party leaders.
Addressing thousands of supporters, Museveni urged residents of Bugiri to renew their trust in the NRM by voting for him and the party’s candidates in the forthcoming general elections.
He said the NRM’s legacy of unity, peace, and national development distinguishes it from other political formations.
“I am here, together with other leaders, to ask you to support the NRM. We are a national party with a proven record. From the beginning, we rejected the sectarian politics that divided Uganda in the 1960s. We believe everyone is valuable, and that is why Uganda is stable today,” he said.
The President outlined the government’s infrastructural achievements in the Busoga sub-region, noting that the area has benefited significantly from national development programmes.
He cited the reconstruction of major highways such as Jinja–Kampala and Jinja–Tororo, as well as new tarmac roads including Iganga–Kaliro and Busita–Namayingo.
He assured residents that more key road projects are in the pipeline, including Jinja–Kamuli–Mbulamuti and Iganga–Kiyunga–Kamuli, in addition to several roads within Bugiri District such as Bugiri–Namayingo.
On water access, President Museveni explained that the geology of the Lake Victoria basin makes boreholes unsuitable.
“Our plan is to pump water directly from Lake Victoria to higher areas, just like we did in Lira where we pumped from Kachung, 21 miles away. We are already supplying Kampala from Katosi, and we shall do the same here so that the people of Bugiri get a reliable water supply,” he said.
Turning to education, the president expressed concern over uneven distribution of schools in Bugiri.
Bugiri District and Bugiri Municipality have 149 government primary schools; however, out of 102 parishes, 44 still lack a government primary school.
“This must stop. We need to address this distribution issue seriously. I appeal to the district NRM chairperson, the RDC, and DEOs to ensure every parish has a government primary school,” he said.
At secondary level, Bugiri has 20 sub-counties but only nine have government secondary schools. To close this gap, the President announced the construction of three new seed secondary schools under the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) programme and the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project (USEEP).
“Our target is simple: every sub-county must have a secondary school, and every parish must have a government primary school,” he said.
President Museveni also emphasized the distinction between wealth and development.
“Some people confuse development with wealth. Kampala has development, but some people in the ghettos are still poor. Wealth is created in four sectors: commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT,” he said.
He reaffirmed the importance of the four-acre model introduced in the 1996 manifesto and cited success stories across the country, including in Karamoja.
To boost household incomes, he said government will continue supporting communities through the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, and targeted youth funds benefiting ghetto communities, boda boda riders, unemployed graduates, and religious and cultural institutions.
The President also addressed challenges affecting job creation.
“Government jobs are 480,000, yet we have 50 million Ugandans. Real jobs come from factories, commercial agriculture, services and ICT. Factories alone now employ 1.3 million Ugandans—three times more than government,” he said.
He expressed frustration with resistance to implementing free education.
“We introduced free education in 1996 because we knew school fees would block many children, but some head teachers and PTAs refused to implement it. That’s why I started the Presidential Skilling Hubs,” he said.
He noted that the skilling hubs have helped transform the lives of young people who would have been left behind.
President Museveni also handed over NRM flags to aspiring Members of Parliament, LC V chairpersons, councillors and other party candidates in Bugiri District, formally endorsing their campaigns.
Alhaji Kigongo thanked the people of Bugiri for their support to President Museveni and the NRM.
“We request your votes for the President. Once we are united, we can settle all issues. On voting day, go out and support our chairman,” he said.
Calvin Echodu, the NRM Vice Chairperson for Eastern Region, said the large turnout demonstrated Busoga’s strong support.
“Your Excellency, you are no stranger to Busoga. The numbers here show the strong support you enjoy. Thank you, Busoga,” he said.
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, welcomed the President and called for prioritisation of tourism and industrial development in the region.
“Your Excellency, we need safe water in Busoga. We also want to enhance tourism and create more opportunities for our people,” she said.
Hon. Solomon Silwany, the NRM chairperson for Bugiri District, thanked the President for development programmes that have improved livelihoods in the area.
NRM Impact in Bugiri
Bugiri District has registered progress in education, healthcare, water access and environmental conservation.
The district and municipality have 149 primary schools serving more than 105,000 children. Of its 102 parishes, 58 have at least one government primary school, leaving 44 without one.
At secondary level, there are 9 government secondary schools enrolling 10,699 students, while Bugiri Municipality has 1 secondary school with 1,876 learners.
Three additional secondary schools will be constructed under UgIFT and USEEP, reducing the number of sub-counties without a government secondary school from 11 to 8.
The Busoga Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub in Jinja has trained 961 youths in welding, carpentry, building construction, tailoring, bakery, hairdressing and leather design, with 240 currently undergoing training.
Bugiri’s health infrastructure includes one hospital, one HCIV and eleven HCIIIs, though seven sub-counties still lack an HCIII or higher. Plans are underway to upgrade multiple HCII facilities to HCIII status and construct new HCIIIs in Buwumi Town Council, Muwayo Town Council, and Muterere Sub-county.
Safe water coverage stands at 67 percent in rural areas, while urban water projects have expanded access to tens of thousands in Bugiri Town Council, Buwuni Town Council and Nankoma. Additional water and sanitation projects are planned, including the Namayemba piped system.
Bugiri District’s wetlands cover 22,760 hectares, of which 70 percent have been degraded.