President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday officially launched the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), a bold and strategic framework aimed at tackling Uganda’s most pressing development challenges and steering the country toward comprehensive socio-economic transformation.
The launch took place at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, ahead of the President’s delivery of the State of the Nation Address.
In her remarks, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among described the plan, approved by Parliament on January 9, 2025, as a national blueprint for transformation and sustainable development. She noted that the plan serves as a precursor to the National Budget Speech, scheduled for June 12, 2025.
“I acknowledge the contributions of all stakeholders involved in the formulation of this plan,” Among said. “I request that before you begin your address to Parliament and the nation, you symbolically unveil NDP IV as the foundation for the upcoming budget speech.”
In his address, President Museveni credited the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leadership with laying the ideological and institutional groundwork for Uganda’s modern development. He identified four core principles underpinning this progress: patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy.
“This ideology promotes the mass line, ensuring social uplift for all, not just a privileged elite,” the President said.
He highlighted key government initiatives such as Universal Primary and Secondary Education, mass immunization campaigns, and wealth creation programs including Operation Wealth Creation, the Parish Development Model, and Emyooga as critical drivers of improved living standards.
Museveni noted that life expectancy in Uganda has risen to 63 years, up from 45 years in 1986 when the NRM assumed power. He also cited the 2024 National Housing and Population Census, which puts Uganda’s current population at 46 million, compared to 14 million in 1986—an indication, he said, of healthier and longer lives.
Further progress was noted in literacy, which has improved from 43 percent in 1986 to 80 percent today. He also pointed to a dramatic shift in the economy, where the proportion of Ugandans engaged in subsistence farming has fallen from 90 percent to 33 percent.
“This transformation illustrates that mass line programmes are the most effective path to socio-economic change,” Museveni emphasized.
Aligned with this philosophy, the President outlined key priorities under NDP IV: maintaining peace and security; accelerating industrialization through the establishment of factories utilizing locally available raw materials; promoting exports and import substitution; strengthening the private sector; expanding market access; and skilling youth through industrial vocational hubs.
Covering the period from the financial year 2025/2026 to 2029/2030, NDP IV sets the foundation for inclusive growth and sustained wealth creation. The plan focuses on sustainable industrialization, full economic monetization, and robust private sector expansion.
Among its targets, NDP IV aims to significantly boost the GDP growth rate and increase the average monthly nominal household income by the end of the planning period.
