The NRM presidential candidate, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, promised to tarmac the 25.8-kilometre Bududa–Bubulo road. The road links the districts of Manafwa, Bududa, and Namisindwa.
Museveni has in the past promised to tarmac that road, a promise that has been on the region’s wish list for years.
It recently turned into a campaign issue after young people in Bududa staged a demonstration dubbed ” No road, no vote. Budada has, since 1996, been giving Museveni the majority share of the votes, but many residents have expressed frustration that he has not reciprocated with better services.
Speaking at a campaign rally held at Bukigai Primary School in Bududa District on Saturday, Museveni said the government had secured the funds to complete the project, which he described as vital to the economic transformation of the Bugisu sub-region.
“We have been pushing for the Bubulo–Namisindwa–Bududa circular road. It was delayed, yes, but now we have the money and we are going to work on it,” the President assured, drawing loud applause from the cheering crowd.
Accompanied by his daughter, Natasha Karugire Museveni, the President urged residents to continue supporting the NRM, emphasizing that his party’s track record speaks for itself.
“I have come here to ask you to continue supporting the NRM because we do not just talk. We show results,” Museveni said.
He hailed Bugisu’s growing infrastructure, citing the recently completed Bumbobi–Bubulo–Lwakhakha road, which connects Mbale to Kenya through Namisindwa, as a cornerstone of the government’s long-term development strategy.
“The first contribution of the NRM is peace, and you are witnesses to that. Development comes next. Electricity and roads are the backbone of transformation,” Museveni said, noting that economic growth is built on stability.
He reminded the crowd of Uganda’s electricity crisis in 2005 and said that decisive investment under his government had turned the tide, powering industrialization in Mbale and beyond.
“Because of that electricity, you can now see the industrial park in Mbale. It would never have come without reliable power,” he added.
Museveni used the rally to reiterate his stance on balancing national priorities, urging citizens and leaders to support infrastructure and production sectors before demanding higher public wages.
Some things take time. You must guide your Members of Parliament on priorities. We recently had teachers striking for higher salaries, but we must first invest in what grows the economy,” he explained.
Drawing on history, the President illustrated Uganda’s transformation under his administration. “In 1961, when I was at Ntare School, boys from Bugisu were coming there because the whole country had only six A-Level schools. Today, Bududa alone has more than ten secondary schools. This is the steady progress of the NRM,” he said.
He also emphasized that development is not the same as wealth creation, urging Ugandans to embrace commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT as the real sources of prosperity. “Government jobs are only 480,000, yet we are 50 million people. Jobs come from factories, farms, hotels, transport, and ICT,” he noted.
Reaffirming his commitment to providing free, quality education, Museveni stated that the government is addressing the challenges that continue to push children out of school. “I introduced UPE in 1996 because I wanted every child to study. But some people did not implement it the way I wanted. Fees in government schools remain the real enemy,” he said.
He cited the success of the Presidential Skilling Hubs, which have provided practical training to thousands of young Ugandans. “Cathy, a graduate from the Bugisu Zonal Industrial Hub, told me she used her start-up capital to open a tailoring workshop in Bududa. These are the gains we must protect,” the President said proudly.
Museveni summarized the four key pillars of the NRM’s ten-point programme, peace, development, wealth, and jobs, saying they form the foundation of Uganda’s future.
“These are the pillars that have lifted our people from turmoil to transformation. Our mission now is to secure that progress,” he said, waving to the thousands of supporters who thronged the venue.
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