President Museveni, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate ahead of the 2026 elections, has urged Ugandan youth to avoid wasting time on European football and instead focus on productive activities that advance national and regional development.
Speaking to journalists at Mbale State Lodge after concluding his Bukedi region campaigns, Museveni emphasized the strategic importance of East African Community (EAC) integration for Uganda’s economic future.
‘Where will you sell what you produce? If you think the internal market of Uganda is enough, why would the Chinese, who have a market of 1.4 billion, be looking for markets here?’ he said on Friday.
The president criticized youth preoccupations with football, noting that many jobless young people spend hours betting on sports, sometimes with fatal consequences.
‘.It’s really amazing when I see you fellows, young people, politicians, intellectuals, what are you intellectualizing about? You are not dealing with your future,’ he said.
Museveni highlighted the structural imbalance in Uganda’s economy, citing dairy production as an example.
The country, where more than half of its 46 million population is under 30, produces around 5.3 billion liters of milk annually, yet domestic consumption is just 800 million liters.
‘We have a surplus of four billion liters. Sometimes Kenya buys, sometimes it doesn’t, and then we go to Algeria. And it is the same issue with sugar, maize, cement,’ he said.
He outlined the seven pillars of the NRM manifesto for the next five years as peace, development, wealth creation, job creation, expanding services, expanding markets, and political federation of East Africa.
The Ugandan leader said market expansion and regional political federation are crucial for long-term growth.
‘If you have studied European history, you would have known how Germany and Italy united. What was moving them was the issue of the market,’ Museveni said, adding: ‘A modern economy cannot grow without a market.’
The president called for intensified efforts toward the East African political federation, arguing that a united region would possess the defense, technological, and economic capacity to compete globally.
‘East Africa can have a strong capacity, go to the moon, send a satellite, and ask the Americans: what are you doing here? The moon is a common property,’ he said, adding humorously.
Museveni also warned that ideological alignment, not personal ambition, should guide political competition.
‘Conflicts arise when people prioritize positions over principles. If we all believe in the same thing, why fight each other?’
On public service salaries, the president defended the government’s focus on strategic infrastructure projects, arguing they create jobs and long-term economic opportunities.
‘We prioritized infrastructure over salaries because infrastructure creates opportunities for more jobs,’ he said, while assuring that salary enhancements remain on the agenda.
Seeking to extend his rule beyond 40 years, Museveni is one of eight candidates contesting in Uganda’s presidential election on January 15, 2026.