President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni officially commissioned a suite of newly completed road infrastructure projects worth Shs 53 billion in Kasese Municipality, constructed under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) program.
The commissioned roads include Rwenzori Road, Bus Circular Road, 3rd Street, Kitalikubi Road, Park Rise, Stanley Road, Margarita Road, Rukidi III-Port Circular, Crescent Road, Mandela Road, Total Road, Mboghoyabo, and Lincoln Road. These projects mark a major milestone in enhancing Kasese’s urban mobility, economic development, and climate resilience.
Speaking at the commissioning event, President Museveni praised the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government for fulfilling its pledges and delivering visible development.
“These developments demonstrate that the NRM government is not about empty promises. We do what we say and say what we mean,” he said.
The President further emphasized that Uganda’s development has always been guided by a deliberate strategy of prioritization. He reiterated that the real challenge in national transformation is not a lack of ideas or funding, but a tendency by some actors to seek immediate popularity and pursue uncoordinated initiatives.
“Our problem has never been ideas; it is the lack of prioritization. The Bible says, ‘Seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things shall be added unto you.’ You want to do everything at once, but that’s not how transformation works,” Museveni noted.
Highlighting the NRM’s development model, the President stated that national progress was built on a foundation of security, from which all other services flow.
“When we took over, even soldiers lived in grass-thatched huts. But we prioritized building the army and equipping it. A soldier in a grass-thatched house can still protect you if he has a gun,” he explained.
President Museveni warned both political and religious leaders against making unrealistic promises for short-term acclaim.
“Start with the poor. Jesus said, ‘When I was hungry, you didn’t feed me.’ Roads are important, yes, and we shall build more, but we must do things in order. That is the wisdom of sustainable development,” he said.
He reaffirmed the NRM’s phased development philosophy: security first, then transport and roads, followed by electricity, education, and finally expanded social services.
He concluded his remarks with a call for unity and coordinated effort:
“Let us stop working in fragments. One by one makes a bundle. With discipline and prioritization, we shall continue to transform Uganda.”
The event was attended by several senior government officials, including the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa; the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi; the Minister of State for the Luwero Triangle and Rwenzori Region, Hon. Alice Kaboyo; and the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, Hon. Balaam Barugahara, among others.
The successful commissioning event reaffirms Kasese’s growing stature as a model urban municipality and reflects the government’s ongoing effort to improve infrastructure across Uganda in line with Vision 2040 and the National Development Plan.