President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on religious and cultural leaders to actively engage in the fight against poverty, urging them to go beyond sermons and customs by offering practical guidance to their communities.
“People being poor in a country that has everything is a big mistake—and it’s largely a failure in leadership,” the President said during his visit to Ntoroko District on the first day of his Rwenzori Sub-region tour to assess the impact of the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“I’m not just talking about political leaders, but also religious and cultural ones. These should be like parents to the people,” he added.
Questioning their moral authority, Museveni challenged faith and traditional leaders to provide real-life solutions. “How can you be a pastor or cultural leader when you can’t even feed the flock with real solutions?” he asked.
The President was speaking during a visit to Mr. Steven Kisembo, a 34-year-old PDM beneficiary in Kisungu II Cell, West Ward, Kibuuku Town Council, who has grown his goat-rearing enterprise to 18 animals. Impressed by Kisembo’s progress, Museveni donated Shs 10 million to help him purchase two acres of land and expand his project.
“This country is easy to work in. Take goats, for example—they can produce two or three kids in just six months,” he said, urging Ugandans to heed the NRM’s message of self-reliance and practical economic development.
Museveni emphasised that the NRM’s approach is rooted in experience, not theory. “We started with just 27 guns and succeeded. I transformed my people in Ankole from nomadism to modern dairy farming starting in 1966. By 1995, Nyabushozi had changed.”
He further explained the Four-Acre Model adopted in the 1996 NRM manifesto—one acre for coffee, one for fruit trees, another for pasture, and the last for food crops—as a proven path to sustainable income. “We also introduced Entandikwa to give people a starting point,” he added.
Museveni described his leadership as a divine calling: “I am working for God. He gave me the blessing to lead, and if I mislead or fail to help the people, He can punish me.”
He urged local leaders to closely monitor PDM implementation and promised additional support to strengthen the programme.
Mr. Kisembo thanked the President, saying the PDM had greatly improved his livelihood and those of many others in his community.
