President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Thursday returned to the Lango Sub-region and launched his engagements in Kole District with a pledge to roll out a new Parish Development Model (PDM)-based approach to cattle restocking, as part of a broader push for household wealth creation.
Addressing thousands of supporters at Aculbanya Secondary School playground, the President said Cabinet had agreed and funded a shift from direct cattle distribution to cash-based restocking under the PDM, following consultations with leaders from Lango, Teso and Acholi.
“I had to rush back to cabinet to harmonise the position on restocking after our people in Teso, Lango and Acholi agreed to shift from a legalistic approach to using the Parish Development Model,” President Museveni said.
“Cabinet resolved that instead of giving cows directly, we provide money, and that money is now available on the accounts,” he added.
President Museveni, who is also the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Presidential flag bearer for the 2026 general elections, explained that the Cabinet engagements were the reason for his earlier absence from a planned campaign visit to the sub-region.
He assured residents that the revised restocking programme would be implemented carefully to avoid past challenges and conflicts, while ensuring fairness and sustainability.
The President urged the people of Lango to focus on deliberate wealth creation at household level, arguing that development without income generation cannot transform livelihoods.
According to President Museveni, Uganda’s past instability was largely driven by identity politics, which the NRM replaced with national unity and an ideology centred on production and prosperity.
He reiterated the NRM’s long-standing promotion of the four-acre model for families with limited land, recommending coffee, fruits, pasture for dairy cattle and food crops or enterprises such as poultry and fish farming.
Turning to natural resources, President Museveni described Lango as a “goldmine,” particularly its wetlands, which he said should be used sustainably to support irrigation and fish farming.
“You should not destroy the wetlands,” he said, noting that fish farming along wetland fringes combined with irrigation can significantly raise household incomes.
The President said government programmes introduced since 1997, including Entandikwa, were designed to support citizens without capital or access to bank loans so that no household remains without a source of wealth.
He also pointed to growth in livestock and crop production as evidence that Uganda’s economy continues to expand steadily.
President Museveni said he had received a memorandum from the Kole District leadership and reaffirmed his commitment to address the issues raised.
He concluded by calling on the people of Kole and the wider Lango Sub-region to support the NRM in order to preserve existing gains and build further progress.
The NRM Vice Chairperson for Northern Uganda, Hamson Obua, urged voters in Kole and the wider Lango Sub-region to back President Museveni in the 2026 elections, describing peace as the “center of gravity” of Uganda’s development.
“A vote for President Museveni is a vote for peace, and peace is the foundation upon which all development stands,” Obua said.
Boniface Okot, the aspirant Member of Parliament for Kole South, who presented the district memorandum, commended government wealth-creation programmes for improving household incomes.
He said Kole District, with a population of 294,301 according to the 2024 census, has received Shs18.56 billion under the Parish Development Model, with Shs15.98 billion already disbursed to 16,176 households.
On Emyooga, Okot said the district has 36 SACCOs that have received Shs1.57 billion in seed capital, with members mobilising savings of Shs273.4 million.
He noted progress in education and health but said gaps remain, including limited government schools in some parishes and sub-counties, as well as the need to expand access to safe water and electricity.
The rally was attended by NRM Central Executive Committee members, Members of Parliament, religious and cultural leaders, and thousands of supporters.