PRESIDENT MUSEVENI ASSURES BUIKWE ON MINIMUM WAGE, SAYS GOVERNMENT MUST FIRST LOWER COST OF DOING BUSINESS

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has assured Ugandans that the long-
awaited minimum wage will be established once the government
completes key interventions aimed at enabling investors to operate
sustainably and profitably.

Speaking on Saturday 3 rd January 2026, during a campaign rally in
Lugazi Municipality, Buikwe District, President Museveni said the
government is deliberately sequencing reforms to avoid harming
businesses and job creation.
President Museveni, who is also the National Resistance Movement
(NRM) flagbearer for the 2026 general elections, was accompanied by
the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet
Kataaha Museveni, as he addressed thousands of supporters who
braved a heavy downpour to attend the rally.
The President acknowledged growing public concern over low wages,
especially among workers in factories, farms, and service industries, but
emphasized that introducing a minimum wage prematurely could
backfire.
“We are still handling the issues of salaries, and we have not concluded.
Why? It is because we are still organizing the manufacturing sector, and
our job has been to attract more investors,” he said.

He explained that Uganda’s strategy has focused on first creating
conditions that reduce the cost of production, allowing investors to
remain competitive while paying workers better in the long run.
“These different forms of wealth — commercial agriculture, factories,
hotels, and ICT — have created jobs and wealth for our people but there
is the issue of wages or salaries for workers,” he said.
President Museveni cited peace and regional market access as the
foundation of Uganda’s industrial growth, noting that the East African
Community (EAC) market provides a ready destination for locally
manufactured goods.
“First of all, we created peace. Secondly, we created the East African
Community market so that when we produce, we have somewhere to
sell,” he said.
Lowering production costs:
The President outlined three major areas the government is prioritizing
before implementing a minimum wage: electricity costs, transport
infrastructure, and access to affordable credit.
“One of the things we must do is to get enough electricity so that
investors can have low electricity costs,” President Museveni said,
adding that energy affordability remains a key determinant of factory
profitability.
He also pointed to transport costs, particularly the movement of goods
between Uganda and the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

“That’s why our solution is the railway, which has lower transport costs
than road transport,” he said, noting that cheaper logistics would allow
manufacturers to save costs and improve worker pay.
On access to finance, President Museveni said the government is
working to reduce interest rates so that businesses can borrow at
affordable terms.
“The cost of money in the banks must come down so that investors can
borrow at a low interest rate,” he said.
According to President Museveni, once these structural challenges are
addressed, the government will proceed with setting and enforcing a
minimum wage.
“When you hear people talking about the minimum wage, we are
planning for it but we have not implemented it because we still have
assignments on our side,” he explained.
The NRM candidate cautioned that imposing wage regulations too early
could push investors out of the country.
“If we become harsh on them now, they will make losses and take their
business elsewhere or collapse and go away from Uganda,” he said.
The President also clarified the division of responsibility between the
government and investors.
“The assignment of the investor is to set up the factory using their
money and create jobs. Ours is to make sure there is peace in the
country, make electricity affordable, provide low-cost transport, and
reduce the cost of money in the banks,” he said.

Drawing from his guerrilla warfare background, President Museveni
likened the government’s approach to military strategy.
“We are guerrillas. While in Luwero, we did not attack Kampala
immediately, even though it was very near. We could not do it until we
were ready,” he said, adding that patience and timing are critical in
economic transformation.
President Museveni also addressed land disputes, particularly on Mailo
land, which have increasingly affected communities in central Uganda.
He announced that Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka would be
tasked to clarify the matter publicly.
“I will ask the Attorney General to clarify the issue of land on TV so that
people understand their rights,” President Museveni said.
Turning to the NRM’s manifesto, President Museveni outlined what he
described as the party’s seven key contributions to Uganda over the last
four decades.
“The first one is peace. Development is the second — roads, health
centers, schools, electricity, and water,” he said, adding that government
records demonstrate tangible progress in these areas.
The third pillar, he said, is wealth creation at the household level.
“The NRM insists on wealth per family and household. You don’t sleep
on the tarmac road; you sleep in your house,” President Museveni said,
revisiting the Four-Acre Model, first introduced in the 1996 NRM
manifesto, which allocates land for coffee, fruits, pasture, and food
crops, supported by backyard enterprises such as poultry, piggery, and
fish farming.

He cited success stories under the Parish Development Model (PDM),
including that of Harriet Nampa from Mangaliba village in Mukono
District.
“This lady feared the Shs1 million PDM money because she had never
touched one million in her entire life. She received Shs500,000 and
invested in piggery,” he said.
According to the President, Nampa’s piggery business grew to over
Shs4 million, enabling her to buy a cow and venture into dairy farming.
“These are small-scale people who are just starting, and many more are
doing well,” he said.
President Museveni also cited large-scale agricultural success stories,
including Kalera Phillip of Gomba District, who operates a demonstration
farm that began in 2003.
He said Kalera diversified into Friesian dairy cows, coffee on 50 acres,
poultry, and other ventures after initially struggling with poor rearing
methods.
“He harvests coffee twice a year, earning between Shs18 million and
Shs20 million per acre, and Shs9 million from matooke alone per
harvest,” President Museveni noted.
The farmer reportedly earns over Shs1.5 billion annually in profit.
On employment, the President emphasized that jobs are generated
through commercial agriculture, manufacturing/artisanship, services, and
ICT.

He cited Johnson Basangwa of Jeka Poultry Farm in Kamuli District,
who earns about Shs20 million daily from egg production and employs
over 300 people.
“You here in Lugazi have testimonies of sugar factories where many of
your children are working,” President Museveni said.
He highlighted industrial parks such as Sino-Mbale, which hosts 75
factories employing about 12,000 workers, and Namanve Industrial
Park, with 273 factories employing over 24,000 people.
“Mukono also has many factories employing our youths,” he added.
President Museveni urged citizens to actively monitor PDM funds to
prevent misuse.
“All of you should ask the SACCO committee where the PDM money is.
You need to learn to follow up on what belongs to you,” he said.
He acknowledged past challenges with earlier programs such as
Entandikwa, NAADS, and Operation Wealth Creation, which were
criticized for benefiting a few individuals.
“That’s why we decided to work directly with the poor people at the
parish level,” President Museveni said.
On her part, while addressing the crowd, the First Lady, Maama Janet
praised residents for enduring the rain to attend the rally.
“Sometimes we stand in the sun, sometimes in the rain, to build
Uganda,” she said, crediting Uganda’s progress to peace, stability, and
unity, urging voters to renew NRM’s mandate.

“We must stretch out our hands and vote for NRM so that our children
and grandchildren can be proud of the Uganda we are building,” she
said.
NRM Second National Vice Chairperson and Speaker of Parliament, Rt.
Hon. Annet Anita Among informed the President that Buikwe District
faces challenges of absentee landlords and alleged theft of PDM funds.
She called for investigations into the misuse of public resources.
The rally marked his final campaign stop in greater Mukono after
canvassing Buvuma, Kayunga, and Mukono districts.