NRM launches 2026–31 manifesto, vows to “Protect the Gains”

30 September 2025, 2:17 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) yesterday unveiled its manifesto for the 2026–2031 term under the theme “Protecting the Gains.” The launch was led by the party’s Secretary General, Richard Todwong, who highlighted achievements registered since 1986 and outlined priorities for the next five years.

Todwong said that while the NRM had defended Uganda with limited resources in the past, it now possesses greater means to propel the country to upper middle-income status. Key commitments in the manifesto include:

• Reducing the cost of doing business through investments in transport infrastructure.
• Lowering the cost of electricity and expanding access to affordable, long-term capital for the private sector.
• Constructing a refined products pipeline to ease fuel transportation.
• Completing the Standard Gauge Railway and rehabilitating the metre-gauge railway.
• Tackling underemployment among youth by boosting productivity, skills, and gainful work opportunities.
• Eliminating corruption in both government and the private sector.
• Expanding access to international and regional markets, including the EAC, COMESA, and AfCFTA, by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers.

During his address, President Yoweri Museveni emphasised that the NRM still has the capacity to achieve even more once current challenges are addressed. He highlighted job creation through the four-acre model and the Parish Development Model (PDM).

Museveni also noted that three in every ten families remain stuck in subsistence farming or engaged in non-profitable enterprises, calling for stronger integration into the money economy. He reaffirmed that peace remains a central pillar of NRM governance.

The President officially launched the manifesto in the presence of his wife, Hon Janet Museveni.