BABIRYE MILLY BABALANDA: Why Musevenomics is the Future of Uganda’s Development Agenda?

The ongoing induction retreat for newly elected Members of Parliament at the National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi, has once again reaffirmed the National Resistance Movement’s long-standing tradition of ideological orientation, policy alignment and strategic planning.
Running from April 7 to April 15, 2026, the retreat has brought together newly elected NRM legislators, returning MPs, and NRM-leaning independents committed to working with the party. Held under the timely theme, “Aligning the NRM leadership towards protecting the gains and making a bold, qualitative leap towards a higher middle-income status society,” the engagement could not have come at a more critical time for our country.
From a participant’s point of view, this retreat has already achieved its core objectives.
I wish to commend the NRM Secretariat under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, the organisers, the facilitators and the staff at NALI for what is, by every measure, one of the most organised and intellectually enriching retreats we have had in recent years. The quality of presentations, the discipline of deliberations and the strategic guidance from our Party Chairman and President, H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, have made this engagement exceptionally productive.
The retreat has covered a broad range of issues—from NRM ideology, governance and regional geopolitics to national security, service delivery and economic transformation. However, the most compelling takeaway for many of us is the crystallisation of what has increasingly come to be known as Musevenomics.

Musevenomics in a snapshot:
At its core, Musevenomics is not merely an economic doctrine; it is a practical philosophy of national transformation rooted in wealth creation, productivity, value addition and strategic state guidance of the economy. This ideological framework draws from President Museveni’s long-held conviction that sustainable transformation must be driven by a deliberate fusion of market efficiency, state coordination and social inclusion. It is a philosophy that seeks to harmonise the productive energies of capitalism, the social consciousness of inclusive governance and the strategic discipline of national planning. This ideology was first introduced by the president during a CEC retreat at Igongo on December 23, 2018 and recently, Senior Presidential Advisor on Wealth creation, Gen. Salim Saleh, elaborated it in a book he authored and titled Musevenomics.

Musevenomics Operationalized at Kyankwanzi
Recent deliberations at Kyankwanzi have placed this philosophy at the centre of Uganda’s next phase of development. In his address to legislators, the President outlined strategic priorities aimed at expanding Uganda’s economy ten-fold, in line with the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) and Vision 2040. Among the foremost priorities is commercial agriculture and value addition. Uganda will, in the next term, move decisively away from the export of raw materials and instead maximise returns through processing, packaging and branding. Coffee remains a prime example. Rather than exporting raw beans, the country stands to earn significantly more foreign exchange through roasting, grinding and finished-product exports. The same logic applies to dairy, fish, fruits, cotton and minerals.
Secondly, the President highlighted the need for full monetisation of the economy, particularly through initiatives such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga. These programmes are intended to bring more households into the money economy and transition communities from subsistence to enterprise-based livelihoods.
The third pillar is the knowledge economy, particularly investment in science, technology and innovation. This will include strengthening local capacity in pharmaceuticals, vaccine production, automotive engineering, digital technology and electronics manufacturing. Using the analogy of us dancing at Kyankwanzi while people on the moon see us as ants, the president noted that in a rapidly changing global economy, Uganda can only compete through innovation and knowledge-intensive production.
And as in the past, infrastructure still remains another indispensable pillar. Government’s will intensify focus on transport corridors, industrial parks, energy systems, export processing zones, and high-end amenities such as the metre gauge railway and future high-speed rail systems. This demonstrates the strategic understanding that no economy can industrialise without efficient infrastructure. The emphasis on the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, including efforts to address traffic congestion, is especially important because time lost in traffic is, indeed, economic loss.
Equally significant is the commitment to lowering the cost of capital. To achieve this, government will strengthen institutions such as the Uganda Development Bank and the Uganda Development Corporation to make affordable financing accessible to Ugandans, especially manufacturers, agro-processors and innovators. The NRM is aware that cconomic transformation cannot happen when productive sectors are constrained by prohibitively expensive credit.
On social services, the retreat has reaffirmed government’s focus on practical, cost-effective interventions in education and healthcare. Government will ensure that every parish has a primary school and every sub-county a secondary school. This is central to building human capital; while preventive healthcare remains a critical intervention that will be pursued in a bid to improve citizens’ productivity and reduce household vulnerability.
What clearly emerged from the retreat, however, is that policy priorities alone are not enough. Implementation is everything.

Improved Service Delivery
During the deliberations, it was agreed that while the spirit of Musevenomics is a sure ticket to our development aspirations as a country, its success can only be guaranteed by a right mindset, discipline and work ethic of those entrusted with implementing these programmes. This is why the President strongly emphasized the fight against corruption as the eleventh strategic priority. Corruption undermines public confidence, distorts resource allocation and delays service delivery. It is, in many ways, the single greatest threat to the realisation of our national aspirations. And to improve coordination and alignment of ‘troops’ towards a common score into the Musevenomics target goal, the president guided that going forward, the Chief Administrative Officers will share all communications and resources they send to the districts with the area MPs and LC5 chairpersons. This coordination mechanism is a welcome innovation as better information flow and accountability between central government, districts and legislators will strengthen monitoring and ensure that public resources translate into tangible outcomes for citizens.
As we conclude this important retreat, one message stands out with unmistakable clarity: Uganda’s future lies in disciplined leadership, ideological consistency and collective commitment to national transformation. Musevenomics offers not just an economic framework, but a roadmap for turning Uganda’s immense potential into shared prosperity. This task cannot be left to government alone. It requires every Ugandan — leaders, civil servants, private sector players, farmers, youth and local communities — to play their part.

The journey towards a ten-fold economy begins with each one of us embracing productivity, accountability and patriotism. If we align our efforts behind this vision, the qualitative leap we seek will not remain an aspiration. It will become Uganda’s lived reality.

The author is the Minister for the Presidency and MP-Elect for Budiope West Constituency.

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