On June 5, 2025, President Yoweri Museveni delivered what could be his final State of the Nation Address to the 11th Parliament. While it was wrapped in rhetoric about “economic transformation” and “regional integration,” the President’s speech glaringly missed the mark for millions of Ugandans struggling under the weight of poverty, unemployment, and rising living cost
Yes, the President spoke of value addition and industrialization. He talked of coffee processing, cotton factories, and milk exports. These are important goals — but what about today’s pressing problems?
Ugandans are not asking for theories about the future. They are asking:
- Where are the jobs for our youth?
- Why are prices rising when wages are stagnant?
- Why are our hospitals under-equipped and schools under-funded?
On all these, the President was silent
With over 75% of Uganda’s population under 30, youth unemployment is a national crisis. Every day, qualified young Ugandans flood the streets looking for opportunities that simply don’t exist.
And yet, not a single concrete policy or targeted investment in youth employment, entrepreneurship, or skills development was outlined. The youth were left out — again.
How can a government claim to drive transformation while ignoring the corruption bleeding the country dry?
From inflated procurement deals to ghost workers and unexplained wealth among officials, corruption is choking progress. But the President’s speech made no mention of accountability, transparency, or reform. Why the silence?
Across Uganda, patients sleep on hospital floors. Parents struggle to keep their children in school. Teachers and health workers are underpaid and under-supported. These are not just service delivery gaps — they are symptoms of a government that has lost touch with the people.
Yet, in over an hour of speaking, the President did not address education or healthcare in any meaningful way.
Today, a bar of soap is unaffordable to many households. Fuel prices continue to climb, and food inflation is choking families.
Instead of addressing this crisis, the President gave lectures on milk production and mineral processing. Yes, we need industry — but Ugandans also need food on the table and money in their pockets. There was no economic relief plan, no living wage proposal, no price stabilization mechanism. This is not transformation — it’s neglect
President Museveni’s speech sounded more like a farewell tour of ideas than a concrete plan for Uganda’s future. While it was rich in vision, it was poor in empathy, detached from daily struggles, and silent on accountability.
Ugandans don’t just need speeches — they need solutions. And until leadership begins to speak the language of the people — jobs, fairness, dignity — this government will remain a castle in the clouds, admired by its builders but abandoned by its people.
