On the eve of the 38th NRM victory day anniversary, the president delivered a speech ahead in which he emphasised the importance of achievements made in various key sectors, namely: expansion in economic activities; external trade; regional integration and development; boosting tourism revenue; job creation; sustainable energy development; industrialization; and strengthening security.
As the national chairman of NRM and president of Uganda, Gen Museveni said that the NRM’s victory on January 26, 1986 was an indicator of the resilience of Ugandans and their ability to overcome various challenges.
“We have the capacity to do everything; there is nothing we cannot do. It is just a question of patriotism,” he added.
President Yoweri Museveni and the First Lady Janet Museveni joined members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), government officials, and Ugandans for the 38th NRM victory day anniversary celebrations at St John’s SS Wakitaka playgrounds in Jinja city on January 26, 2024.
In his speech at Wakitaka, under the day’s theme “Building a country we all cherish,” the president called upon the police to conduct thorough investigations into corruption cases highlighted in the Auditor General’s reports.
He added that he prefers that approach to the one of conducting extensive inquiries by parliamentary committees. He argued that the police’s investigative arms should take precedence, so that we avoid prolonged discussions in boardrooms, thereby even saving government a lot of resources.
He said corruption reflects political failure, thus prescribing that it should be dismantled through legal means rather than relying on systems and methods that have proved ineffective. He described the theft of public funds as criminal behavior that only deserves prosecution procedures.
He, therefore, urged all responsible government agencies to be vigilant. Museveni also warned big powers which bully small nations to be cautious with the Uganda under NRM rule. Referring to intelligence reports that claim the opposition is being used by certain Western countries to undermine Uganda’s economy, he promised to expose the culprits in the future.
“They have been doing that in other African countries and also some of the other third world nations, but they don’t know how strong the NRM is…. Those who miscalculate that Uganda is a typical neo-colonial African country that they can familiarise with should know that Uganda under NRM is a different cup of tea.”
Museveni praised the people of Busoga for having participated in the struggles to liberate Uganda from bad governance, while also urging them to join him in the struggle against people sabotaging the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme. He told the people of Busoga sub-region that government plans to work on the major roads in the sub-region.
“There are many roads we want to do but we shall start with the major ones like the Jinja bridge-Budondo-Butagaya-Matumu road; Kamuli to Bukungu; and Iganga through Luuka to Kamuli and Kaliro.”