President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on officers of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) undergoing training at the Armoured Warfare Training School (AWTS) in Karama, Mubende, to uphold national unity by rejecting divisive identity politics and instead focus on driving Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
Delivering a Lecture of Opportunity at State House Entebbe, President Museveni who also serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the UPDF, emphasized that Africa’s historical setbacks, including colonialism and economic stagnation, were largely caused by weak governance and disunity.
He reiterated the central role of the UPDF as both an instrument of revolution and a pillar of national development.
President Museveni outlined Uganda’s three historic national missions: achieving prosperity, ensuring strategic security, and fostering African brotherhood. He further emphasized the four ideological principles guiding national progress: Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-Economic Transformation, and Democracy.
He challenged the officers to contribute to national prosperity by producing goods and services for sale with Ekibaro, a calculated return on investment, rather than relying on foreign aid.
Citing Uganda’s agricultural and dairy surpluses, including the production of 700,000 metric tons of sugar against a domestic consumption of 300,000 tons, and 5.4 billion litres of milk with only 800 million consumed locally, President Museveni underscored the need to expand regional markets through Pan-African cooperation.
On the subject of sustainable development, he advocated a shift from manual to skilled and mechanised labour, likening transformation to pregnancy, an inevitable and essential process.
He also renewed calls for deeper East African integration to bolster strategic security, referencing the missed opportunity to form a federation in 1963 and encouraging renewed efforts based on shared heritage and undugu (brotherhood).
Brig. Gen. Peter Chandia, Commandant of AWTS, thanked the President for his insights, noting that the lecture had deepened the officers’ understanding of their role in advancing Uganda’s transformation agenda.
He affirmed the school’s commitment to strengthening technical and strategic capacity through specialised training.
