President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has assured workers in Buikwe District that the government will introduce a minimum wage after lowering the cost of doing business to protect jobs and sustain investment.
Museveni who is the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party flagbearer made the remarks on Saturday, January 3, 2026, while addressing a campaign rally in Lugazi Municipality, Buikwe District.
The President said public concern over low wages is justified but warned that enforcing a minimum wage before fixing structural production costs could hurt businesses and lead to job losses.
“We are still handling the issues of salaries, and we have not concluded,” Museveni said. “Why? It is because we are still organizing the manufacturing sector, and our job has been to attract more investors.”
Museveni explained that Uganda’s strategy has focused on creating conditions that allow investors to operate profitably and pay workers better over time.
“These different forms of wealth, commercial agriculture, factories, hotels, and ICT have created jobs and wealth for our people, but there is the issue of wages or salaries for workers,” he said.
He said peace and access to regional markets laid the foundation for industrial growth, citing the East African Community as a key outlet for Ugandan products.
“First of all, we created peace. Secondly, we created the East African Community market so that when we produce, we have somewhere to sell,” Museveni said.
The President outlined three priorities the government must complete before implementing a minimum wage: reducing electricity costs, lowering transport expenses, and cutting bank interest rates.
“One of the things we must do is to get enough electricity so that investors can have low electricity costs,” he said.
Museveni pointed to the railway as the long-term solution to high transport costs between Uganda and the port of Mombasa.
“That’s why our solution is the railway, which has lower transport costs than road transport,” he said.
On access to finance, he said the government is working to make borrowing cheaper.
“The cost of money in the banks must come down so that investors can borrow at a low interest rate,” Museveni said.
He stressed that the minimum wage remains a government objective but must be introduced at the right time.
“When you hear people talking about the minimum wage, we are planning for it but we have not implemented it because we still have assignments on our side,” he said.
Museveni warned that rushing wage regulations could force investors to close or relocate.
“If we become harsh on them now, they will make losses and take their business elsewhere or collapse and go away from Uganda,” he said.
He also clarified the roles of government and investors in job creation.
“The assignment of the investor is to set up the factory using their money and create jobs,” Museveni said. “Ours is to make sure there is peace in the country, make electricity affordable, provide low-cost transport, and reduce the cost of money in the banks.”
Drawing from his guerrilla background, Museveni likened the approach to military strategy.
“We are guerrillas. While in Luwero, we did not attack Kampala immediately, even though it was very near. We could not do it until we were ready,” he said.
On land matters, Museveni addressed rising disputes over Mailo land and said the Attorney General would clarify land rights to prevent exploitation.
“I will ask the Attorney General to clarify the issue of land on TV so that people understand their rights,” he said.
Museveni also highlighted the National Resistance Movement’s development record, citing peace, infrastructure expansion, and household wealth creation as key achievements.
“The NRM insists on wealth per family and household. You don’t sleep on the tarmac road; you sleep in your house,” he said, referring to the Four-Acre Model.
He cited beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model, including Harriet Nampa of Mukono District, who invested PDM funds in piggery and expanded into dairy farming.
“These are small-scale people who are just starting, and many more are doing well,” Museveni said.
He also pointed to large-scale farmers and industrial parks as evidence of job creation, citing factories in Lugazi, Mukono, Namanve, and Mbale.
“You here in Lugazi have testimonies of sugar factories where many of your children are working,” he said.
Museveni urged residents to closely monitor PDM funds to curb misuse.
“All of you should ask the SACCO committee where the PDM money is,” he said.
Addressing the rally, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Kataaha Museveni, thanked residents for turning up despite heavy rain and urged them to renew the NRM mandate.
“Sometimes we stand in the sun, sometimes in the rain, to build Uganda,” she said.
The Buikwe rally marked Museveni’s final campaign stop in Greater Mukono after visits to Buvuma, Kayunga, and Mukono districts.