Museveni urges youth leaders to eliminate ‘bystanders’ from wealth creation

What the report says

President Yoweri Museveni has called on youth leaders in Uganda to mobilise young people into productive work and to draw more of them into wealth creation, rather than leaving them as “bystanders” in the country’s development efforts, according to Nile Post. The remarks were delivered by Vice President Jessica Alupo at the opening of the Annual National Youth Council Sitting in Kampala on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

The president said youth councils, which exist from village to national level under the National Youth Act of 1993, should help channel young Ugandans into government programmes, jobs and production. He argued that greater participation in agriculture and industry would raise output and help Uganda take advantage of larger regional and continental markets, including East Africa and Africa more broadly. He also framed the message as part of the ruling NRM’s emphasis on Pan-Africanism and integration.

Museveni congratulated the elected youth leaders and urged them to tackle issues affecting young people while promoting what he described as the right ideas and principles. He warned against sectarianism, nepotism, racism and similar attitudes, saying these weaken society. He also linked youth development to health and discipline, encouraging exercise, sobriety and moral guidance as factors that support productivity.

The address came ahead of International Youth Day activities in Kampala, where Alupo was expected to represent the president. More broadly, the remarks fit into Museveni’s long-running message that Uganda’s economic growth depends on bringing more people into formal production and entrepreneurship.