Africa-Press – Uganda. President Museveni has called on National Resistance Movement (NRM) youth leaders in Northern Uganda to prioritise mobilisation around peace, prosperity, health and skills development, saying security and economic empowerment remain the foundation of Uganda’s progress.
The President made the remarks while meeting NRM youth leaders from the Lango, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions at his Kisozi farm.
The delegation was led by Hamson Denis Obua, NRM Vice Chairperson for Northern Uganda and Government Chief Whip.
Museveni said political mobilisation should move beyond slogans and instead demonstrate how Ugandans—particularly young people—can achieve sustainable prosperity.
“The mobilisation you should do is to show everybody, including the youth, how they can be prosperous. The first thing you should tell them is to support NRM because they need security,” the President said.
He reminded the youth of Uganda’s history of instability, urging them to use past experiences to illustrate the value of peace.
“You can give the history of Uganda and show what happened in the 1980s and compare it with what is happening in countries like Sudan, Congo and Somalia,” he said.
Museveni cautioned young people against confusion and misinformation, stressing that the youth have the capacity to understand national issues in depth.
He also warned against irresponsible lifestyles, highlighting health as a critical pillar of productivity. The President noted that government-led childhood immunisation programmes had protected many young Ugandans from preventable diseases, adding that adulthood comes with personal responsibility for healthy living.
Turning to education, Museveni strongly defended the Universal Primary and Secondary Education (UPE/USE) policy, blaming sections of the local elite for weakening its implementation.
“The problem we have is the local elite—teachers, PTAs and foundation bodies—who did not care enough about poor people,” he said, criticising the reintroduction of school charges which he said contributed to school dropouts.
He urged youth leaders across the political divide to defend free education, noting that school dropouts are now being enrolled in Presidential Skilling Hubs.
Museveni said that once peace, health and education are secured, the next priority is employment, which he said will largely come from commercial agriculture, manufacturing, artisanship, services and ICT, supported by industrial hubs across the country. He reiterated the importance of the four-acre model for household wealth creation.
The President also urged the youth to take interest in government budgeting priorities, which he identified as defence and security, roads, electricity, education, health services and wealth creation funds.
On mobilisation, Museveni endorsed door-to-door engagement at village level as the most effective approach, and advised communities seeking industrial parks to make land available. He added that youth SACCOs will support such initiatives and pledged continued investment in sports infrastructure, including the construction of additional stadiums.
Speaking on behalf of the youth, Mercy Lakisa, Vice Chairperson for the Northern Region of the NRM Youth League, thanked the President for sustained engagement with young people and for recognising their role in national development.
She welcomed ongoing parish-level mobilisation efforts and called for special facilitation for youth leaders, noting that young people constitute the largest population group.
Lakisa described NRM youth as the backbone of grassroots mobilisation and thanked the government for investments in industrial parks, citing the Mbale Industrial Park, which she said employs more than 10,000 young people. She appealed for similar projects to be extended to other sub-regions.
She also commended the rollout of Presidential Skilling Hubs in Northern Uganda, while requesting expanded intake and district-level access. In addition, she called for increased support to NRM Youth League SACCOs and broader access to leadership and ideological training at the National Leadership Institute.
On sports development, Lakisa thanked the President for continued investment in the sector, highlighting the ongoing construction of Akii Bua Stadium in the Lango sub-region, and appealed for similar infrastructure in West Nile and Acholi.
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