President Museveni Thursday delivered a firm and expansive State of the Nation Address for 2026, combining historical reflections on Uganda’s economic liberation struggle with strict administrative directives.
Addressing the nation following a series of electoral cycles earlier in the year, Mr Museveni introduced a rigorous governing philosophy under the banner of “no more sleep,” signaling an aggressive push against corruption, public sector underperformance, and structural economic vulnerabilities.
The address, which arrived as Uganda formally crossed into lower-middle-income status, served as both a victory lap for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and a stern warning to political opportunists, bureaucratic non-performers, and media critics.
Central to the President’s address was the elaboration of his post-election mantra, “no more sleep,” which he noted had been deliberately distorted by critics. Mr Museveni clarified that the directive is an explicit ultimatum targeting specific systemic bottlenecks:
No more corruption (obusi kuzi).
No more idleness or slacking off (kukongola), metaphorically described as leaning on one’s hoe while others work.
No more diversionary politics (kugumaaza or kuhuzya), which distracts the public from developmental targets.
No more overburdening the state (kutuhenda) by enjoying public resources while remaining unproductive. In a sharp warning to the political class, the President declared an end to “politeness to non-performers” who seek leadership positions solely to satisfy personal egos and private financial interests. Leadership, he emphasized, must strictly serve the population and the strategic goals of the country.
To contextualize Uganda’s current economic position, President Museveni traced the ideological roots of the NRM back to his youth in the early 1960s. He recalled his early efforts in 1959 to sensitize local populations against subsistence agriculture (okukolera ekidda kyoonka, or working only for the stomach). This advocacy, which began in Nyabushozi and the broader cattle corridor, focused on transitioning nomadic populations into sedentary, commercial dairy farming with strict mathematical calculation for profit (ekibaro).
Reflecting on the challenges of the early struggle, Museveni who has been in power for four decades contrasted the historical lack of resources-recounting how he and his late colleague Mwesigwa Black traversed western Uganda on foot and via local buses using a meager 20-shilling contribution-with the modern expectations of political leaders who demand continuous state allowances to visit their constituents.
‘Therefore, when I hear leaders talking of allowances to reach their People and get them out of poverty, I almost get nausea. Even those who get Government allowances, do not go to the field. I hear that many just stay in Kampala. Another mistake, is for leaders to give personal money to constituents,’ said Mr Museveni who will be celebrating his 82nd birthday later in September.
The president underscored that the success of the cattle corridor, which now features 160 processing factories and yields 1.15 million liters of milk daily in Nyabushozi alone, serves as an empirical proof of concept for the rest of the nation. According to him, nationwide milk production has escalated from 200 million liters in 1986 to 5.4 billion liters annually, saving $1.56 billion in imports and generating $285.4 million in export revenues.
He presented robust macroeconomic data to counter what he indicated as pessimistic narratives, pointing directly to a critical opinion piece by commentator Gawaya Tegulle in the Daily Monitor which likened Uganda’s last forty years to “wandering in the desert.”
Museveni dismissed these assertions as malicious falsehoods, pointing to tangible milestones on the ground, including the bustling Mbale Industrial Park and vast improvements in public welfare indices.
‘I saw in the negative Monitor Newspaper an article by an individual known as Gawaya Tegulle who is always writing mendaciously and maliciously, saying that Uganda has been ‘wandering in the Desert for forty years’ like the children of Israel. Those who are wandering in the desert, are partly those who listen to those liars. It is true that many of the leaders do not amplify this message of how People can get out of poverty. However, those who do, change their lives. I understand Gawaya comes from the Bugwere area.
Let him visit Maama Nabutono and her husband of Bukodi cell, Kasasira ward, Kasasira Town Council. Uganda has gone through five phases of positive Development,’ he said.
According to the official figures presented:
Uganda’s GDP has expanded 17-fold over the last 40 years, rising from $3.9 billion in 1986 to $69.3 billion via foreign exchange methods, and $197.1 billion by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
GDP per capita has reached $1,278, comfortably surpassing the lower-middle-income threshold of $1,136.
Household poverty has experienced a steep decline, dropping from 56.4 per cent in 1992 to 16.1 per cent today.
National health indicators show a dramatic shift, with life expectancy rising from 43 years to 68 years, and infant mortality plunging from 122 deaths per 1,000 live births to 36 per 1,000.
Total national export revenue reached $18 billion in the twelve months ending March 2026, driven by an expanded basket of 31 new export products including pharmaceuticals, refined gold, steel, ceramics, and ICT services.
The economy is projected to grow by 6.4 per cent in the current financial year, with a forecasted surge to 10 per cent growth in the upcoming fiscal year, pushing the total GDP toward $80 billion before commercial oil production even begins.
The President mapped out the future of wealth creation across four key sectors: Commercial Agriculture, Manufacturing, Services, and ICT. He challenged leaders to ensure that grassroots financial interventions-such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), which has already reached 3.7 million households with 557 million shillings per parish, and the Emyooga funds-are properly downloaded and utilized. Government allocations to the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) have reached 1,600 billion shillings to provide manufacturers and large-scale agriculturalists with low-interest capital at 12%, while PDM loans remain pegged at an affordable 6 per cent.
For rural transformation, Museveni emphasized the “four-acre model” for intensive farming alongside a transition from free-range grazing (okusetura) to indoor feeding and solar-powered micro-irrigation partnerships with Nexus Green across districts like Ngora, Serere, and Masaka. Crucially, he warned against the “primitivity of property fragmentation” during inheritance, urging families to form corporate family companies to preserve agricultural land efficiency.
On infrastructure, the President highlighted the completion of core national asphalt roads linking Uganda’s northern, southern, eastern, and western borders. Current strategic efforts are now focused on revamping the meter-gauge railway, constructing the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), and partnering with Kenya and Tanzania on petroleum pipelines to migrate heavy freight off national roads.
To sustain this momentum, the executive submitted a comprehensive legislative program for the 2026/2027 financial year, encompassing 38 distinct bills and statutory reports. Key legislative priorities include regulatory overhauls across vital sectors:
Agriculture and Health: The Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority Bill (2026) and amendments to the Animal Diseases Act, alongside amendments to the Pharmacy and Drugs, Nurses and Midwives, and Allied Health Professionals acts.
Infrastructure and Economy: The Uganda Railways Bill (2026) and the Real Estate Bill (2025) to regulate emerging middle-class developments.
Security and Governance: The Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Bill and an updated Intelligence Services Policy Framework.
Finance: A suite of structural revenue measures including the Income Tax, Excise Duty, Value Added Tax, and Stamp Duty amendment bills for 2027.