Kampala, Uganda | URN | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has signaled a tougher approach toward government officials, warning that ministers and leaders who fail to help citizens benefit from government poverty-eradication programs could face dismissal.
Speaking shortly after the election of Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth as Speaker and Thomas Tayebwa as Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Monday, Museveni said he was no longer prepared to tolerate leaders who pursue positions of authority while neglecting the welfare of the people they represent.
“Enough is enough,” Museveni declared, saying he was now in a “very bad mood” over continued poverty in communities despite billions invested in government programs.
The President argued that after decades of introducing wealth-creation initiatives ranging from Entandikwa and Operation Wealth Creation to the Parish Development Model (PDM), leaders can no longer claim that they lack tools to transform the lives of their constituents.
“In the past, I’ve been polite. I talk, talk as if I’m a preacher like John the Baptist. Please, please, please. But now, as President of Uganda and Chairman of the NRM, I will be very, very rough with people who want titles but don’t want to help, who betray the people they lead,” he said.
Museveni pointed to the Parish Development Model as evidence that government has already provided resources needed to fight poverty. According to the President, each parish now has access to hundreds of millions of shillings in revolving funds intended to support household income generation.
He warned ministers that their performance would increasingly be judged by the economic conditions of the people they represent.
“If I come to your area and I find that you have not helped your people, I will sack you,” Museveni said. “Why should I care about leaders who don’t care about their own people?”
The President also criticized what he described as misplaced priorities among some leaders, questioning why politicians spend time celebrating European football clubs while communities around them remain poor.
“How can you be celebrating European clubs when your people don’t have jobs and are living in poverty?” he asked, in an apparent reference to recent celebrations by supporters of English football club Arsenal.
Throughout his speech, Museveni repeatedly highlighted examples of beneficiaries of government programs who had used small amounts of capital to establish profitable agricultural enterprises, arguing that poverty can be defeated if leaders actively mobilize communities to participate in government initiatives.
Although Museveni did not mention former Speaker Anita Annet Among by name, his comments are likely to fuel speculation about whether they were directed at some of the senior leaders who have recently faced public criticism.
Among withdrew from the race for Speaker before the opening of the 12th Parliament, ending months of uncertainty surrounding her political future. Her tenure was overshadowed by growing public scrutiny of Parliament’s expenditure, issues that contributed to a broader debate about accountability in government.
Museveni’s repeated emphasis on leaders seeking “titles” without serving the people, as well as his warning that he would no longer shield underperforming officials from consequences, may be interpreted by some observers as part of a wider message to the political establishment, including those who have recently faced reputational challenges.
However, there is no direct evidence from the speech that the President was specifically targeting Among. His remarks were framed broadly around ministers, Members of Parliament and NRM leaders whom he accused of failing to ensure that government programs reach intended beneficiaries.
What is clear is that Museveni used the inauguration of the 12th Parliament not only to congratulate its new leadership but also to deliver one of his strongest warnings in recent years to officials within his government.
For a President who acknowledged that he has spent decades “talking and talking” to leaders about poverty eradication, the message was unmistakable: the era of appeals and persuasion is over, and officials who fail to deliver results risk losing their positions.
Whether that tougher stance translates into actual dismissals remains to be seen. For now, Museveni’s declaration that “enough is enough” has set an uncompromising tone for the relationship between the Executive and the newly elected Parliament.
