Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has shared fresh plans to develop the country’s economy as he prepares to run for a seventh term in next year’s election.
- President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda announced plans to further the country’s economic development as he prepares to run for a seventh term.
- Museveni outlined five phases of progress during his leadership, including economic recovery, diversification, and fostering a knowledge-based economy.
- He emphasized enhancing value addition to Ugandan exports and transitioning to science-driven growth.
Museveni, 80, confirmed he will again stand as the presidential candidate for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). He has been in power since 1986 and is already one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
Speaking about his economic goals, Museveni said Uganda has gone through five stages under his leadership. These include rebuilding the economy after years of conflict, growing exports like coffee and tea, and expanding into new sectors.
“Our first task was to bring that small island back, which we described as minimum economic recovery. That was achieved in a fairly short time,” he said.
He explained that Phase Two involved expansion, increasing the production of crops such as coffee and tea. Phase three involved diversification, reducing dependence on just a few products by expanding into other industries and sectors.
“Don’t just depend on coffee and tea and tourism. Bring in other products. You can see the products we are producing now,” he added.
Phase four, he said, is value addition, encouraging local processing and manufacturing to earn more from exports.
“Now, the fifth phase is the knowledge economy based on science. We have gone through these five phases or have entered these phases,” Museveni said.
He told supporters there are other plans he will reveal later.
“There’s something else I will not talk about today, but I will talk about another time, where I decided that I think I could still help the NRM and the country to go through these phases,” he said.
President Museveni says Uganda must move from recovery to value addition and a knowledge economy
He outlined his next priorities: adding more value to Ugandan products through processing and growing a knowledge-based economy driven by science and technology.
“We have gone through these five phases,” Museveni said. “When it comes to the end of this term, the question is, what do we do? There’s something else I will not talk about today, but will share another time.”
Last week, NRM electoral commission chair Tanga Odoi said Museveni would pick up official forms to seek the party’s nomination for both party chairperson and presidential candidate.
Uganda is scheduled to hold elections in January 2026 to choose a president and lawmakers.
Museveni has already overseen two changes to the 1995 constitution that removed presidential term limits in 2005 and age limits in 2017, clearing the way for his continued rule.
He is expected to face opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, again. The singer-turned-politician came second in the 2021 election, which he claimed was rigged.
Museveni is currently the fourth longest-ruling leader in Africa, after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang, Cameroon’s Paul Biya, and Congo Republic’s Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
