To Read the NRM 2021- 2026 Manifesto
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SECURING YOUR FUTURE MANIFESTO 2021 - 2026 • 1 The mantle of securing the future of Uganda is so “great a task for one to play bets on. It is not a gamble. It is a matter which requires lifelong commitment, unending sacrifice and vast experience. NRM is the only political organisation that can be trusted with the sacred responsibility of securing Uganda’s future. ” SECURING YOUR FUTURE FOREWORD n January 2021, Ugandans will, once again, go to the polls to exercise their constitutional Iand democratic right to elect their representatives through a general election for the sixth successive time since 1996. After years of turmoil, this is the first time ever that Uganda has enjoyed more than three decades of an uninterrupted stable democratic process buttressed by NRM’s core principles of Democracy, Patriotism, Pan-Africanism and Socio- economic transformation. We have met most of the goals and aspirations of our people. We have made giant steps in our endeavour to improve the quality of life for all Ugandans. We have built a firm foundation to steer the economy for social transformation and economic take-off into self- sustaining growth. Under the leadership of National Resistance Movement (NRM), our democracy has deepened and blossomed to full maturity, to the extent that anyone can now dream of leading Uganda. At every definitive stage on our long journey, the visionary leadership of NRM has always championed progressive policies and programmes to steer the country forward. This is an epic journey to our destiny and while it might be replete with challenges, it is full of hope and promise. Through our successive visionary manifestos, we have rallied Ugandans around our strategic policies that best serve their diverse aspirations and enhance their welfare. When NRM sought, for the first time, your support and mandate to lead this country in 1996, our promise was “Tackling the Tasks Ahead”. Over the years, you have renewed this mandate and enabled NRM to make steady progress in taking Uganda to modernity through job creation and inclusive development. We are now ready for take-off. The theme of our manifesto this term is “Securing Your Future”. The impressive socio-economic transformation that has been achieved under NRM has awakened Ugandans to meaningfully participate in wealth and job-creation initiatives. More Ugandans are embracing the urgent need to integrate into the modern money economy. They are making a positive transition from poor and subsistence living to modernity. MANIFESTO 2021 - 2026 • 5 NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT The wealth-creation campaigns by NRM are beginning to yield succulent fruits. A new dawn is clearly on the horizon. Therefore, in order to accelerate Uganda’s socio-economic transformation, I appeal to you for a fresh mandate for NRM to continue leading the country. NRM has an unmatched record of performance and a clear vision of securing your future. NRM has managed to sail Uganda through the most violent and turbulent storms in our history. Through this time, NRM has been tried, tested and found worthy of continued leadership of this country. Our resolve to the call of duty remains steadfast and this is our solemn promise. In line with our principled approach to economic development and growth, we have selected five priority areas of focus. They are: Creating Wealth and Jobs; Delivering Education and Health; Ensuring Justice and Equity; Protecting Life and Property and Achieving Economic and Political Integration. The mantle of securing the future of Uganda is so great a task for one to play bets on. It is not a gamble. It is a matter which requires lifelong commitment, unending sacrifice and vast experience. NRM is the only political organisation that can be trusted with the sacred responsibility of securing Uganda’s future. At this point, it is my great pleasure and privilege to present to the people of Uganda the NRM Manifesto, 2021-2026. Vote NRM. Long Live NRM. Long Live Uganda. For God and My Country. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 2021 NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT 6 • MANIFESTO 2021 - 2026 SECURING YOUR FUTURE PROFILE OF THE NRM PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE resident Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a man of strong convictions and rare courage. He Ptakes risks and pursues national interests above his personal comfort and safety. He is a result-oriented leader, whose calling to politics is borne out of a deep and unwavering commitment to finding lasting solutions to the challenges of society. He displays exceptional understanding of the historical and social challenges of African societies. This is what inspired his direct involvement in the liberation and emancipation of his countrymen and women. Museveni has been politically active since his school days. He started waking up Banyankole from poverty as early as 1959 when he joined Mbarara High School. He strongly discouraged nomadism. Later when he joined Ntare School, he doubled as president of the debating society and scripture union. These helped perfect his convictions and shaped him for leadership. His political awareness and ideological orientation became more focused during the three years (1967 to 1970) he spent at the University of Dar es Salaam. The university provided a very conducive atmosphere for pan-Africanism and anti-imperialism. While there, he became the president of the University Students’ African Revolutionary Front (USARF), providing an opportunity for him to gain mentorship from President Julius Nyerere. It is while at this university that he developed far-reaching pan-Africanist and revolutionary ideas. Museveni was instrumental in forming Front for National Salvation (FRONASA), which was the core of Ugandan fighting groups that, together with the Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces, ousted Idi Amin’s regime in April 1979. On 29th January 1986, Museveni became President of the Republic of Uganda after leading a protracted five-year liberation struggle. This was a people’s resistance, with no external base, relying entirely on popular community support, to save their country from total collapse and abuse of the dignity of human life. Upon coming to power, he laid a firm foundation for reconciliation and national harmony, MANIFESTO 2021 - 2026 • 7 NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT proving that people of differing cultural, religious and political allegiances can form a broad-based government. Since 1986, NRM, under the leadership of President Museveni has demonstrated the revolutionary effect good leadership can have on a country. He inherited a country and an economy in ruins. The colonial enclave economy had almost disappeared by the time NRM took power. Under Museveni’s leadership, NRM initiated socio-economic policies designed to combat key challenges, including insecurity of persons and their property, extra-judicial killing, and rampant shortages of essential commodities. Uganda, under Museveni’s leadership, has registered tremendous steady progress in all sectors of the economy. The size of the economy has grown close to tenfold since 1986. The GDP per capita has also increased. Ugandans today live healthier and longer lives. They are better educated. Children no longer die of preventable diseases and are attending school free of charge. Infrastructure has tremendously improved. The total tarmacked road network has increased fivefold. Electricity generation is no longer a problem. Our challenge now is transmission, distribution and cost. Telecommunication has improved, almost every adult has a phone. Under President Museveni’s leadership, Uganda has significantly contributed to regional peace, security and stability. For instance, Uganda supported the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa by hosting its fighters and training them for the liberation of South Africa from apartheid. Uganda also contributed to the restoration of peace in Rwanda, resettlement of her refugees and ending the genocide. Today, Uganda is a host to refugees from across the region and beyond because it is a safe country, unlike the days when her own people filled refugee camps in the region. During his time as President, the Uganda People’s Defence Force has played a vital and positive role in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Central African Republic. President Museveni is a strong advocate of African unity and integration. He is among the African statesmen increasingly credited for championing African unity. Indeed, African diplomats fondly refer to him as “the African Bismarck”. He is driven by the urgent need to permanently cure Africa’s vulnerable position in the global arena of economic and political giants. 8 • MANIFESTO 2021 - 2026 SECURING YOUR FUTURE President Yoweri Museveni MANIFESTO 2021 - 2026 • 9 NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT As one who dedicated his youthful years to Africa’s liberation struggles against oppressive regimes, Museveni is deeply concerned that Africa is still easy prey for plunder and marginalisation, as long as the strides towards economic and political integration remain at snail’s pace. This explains his passionate fight against the subsistence mindset of our communities, championing of prioritisation of infrastructural development, in addition to his efforts towards the pacification of conflict-ridden neighbours and tireless call for integration. Museveni’s transformative leadership has earned him several accolades, including: l New York University and World Bank experts have ranked him among the most transformative leaders in the world who have presided