YOUTH DAY FETE! M7 Challenges Youth: Stop Idleness — Work, Create Wealth
The national Youth Day celebrations were commemorated virtually from the Office of the Vice President in Kampala, with Vice President Jessica Alupo representing President Yoweri Museveni. The event was attended by 1st Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga, Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs Dr Mercy Lakisa Faith, Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Gen Henry Tumukunde, Minister of State for Finance Henry Musasizi, and executives of the National Youth Council representing youth groups from across the country.
By Evans Najuna
KAMPALA: President Yoweri Museveni has challenged Uganda’s youth to wake up, embrace hard work and exploit the country’s peace, infrastructure and government wealth-creation programmes to build businesses, create jobs and transform their livelihoods.
Museveni delivered the message in his International Youth Day address, which was read on his behalf by Vice President Jessica Alupo during the celebrations Wednesday, August 13, 2026.
The national Youth Day celebrations were commemorated virtually from the Office of the Vice President in Kampala, with Vice President Jessica Alupo representing President Yoweri Museveni.
The event was attended by 1st Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga, Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs Dr Mercy Lakisa Faith, Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Gen Henry Tumukunde, Minister of State for Finance Henry Musasizi, and executives of the National Youth Council representing youth groups from across the country.
The President said this year’s theme, “Empowering Young People for Inclusive Wealth,” fits perfectly with the National Resistance Movement’s mission of transforming Ugandans from subsistence living into wealth creators.
Museveni said Uganda has overcome several bottlenecks that previously held back economic growth, including insecurity, weak infrastructure, limited markets and inadequate human capital.
He said the country is now peaceful and stable, with improved roads, electricity, education, skills development and a growing domestic market.
According to Museveni, Uganda’s domestic market has grown from about 14 million people in 1986 to approximately 46 million, while the country also has access to the wider East African market of more than 500 million people and the African market of about 1.4 billion people.
He urged the youth to seize these opportunities and venture into the four key sectors of commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT.
Museveni, however, warned that development alone cannot put food on people’s tables or money in their pockets unless citizens turn available opportunities into wealth.
He said government would continue extending capital to wealth creators through programmes such as Emyooga, the Parish Development Model (PDM) and the Youth Fund, among others.
The President stressed that the money is intended as seed capital to help beneficiaries generate income, produce goods and services and improve their livelihoods—not for consumption.
Museveni also cautioned young people against idleness, drug abuse, excessive alcohol consumption and promiscuity, saying such behaviours undermine their health, productivity and future.
He urged the youth to embrace discipline, hard work, self-reliance and productivity, warning against a culture of dependence and expecting free money without work.
Museveni cited Japan as an example of a country that transformed itself through hard work, discipline and skills development despite having limited natural resources and suffering massive destruction during the Second World War.
He challenged Ugandan youth to acquire practical skills, organise themselves into enterprise groups, utilise government financing programmes and actively participate in building the economy.
“With the peace we fought for and enjoy today, no Ugandan should remain idle,” Museveni said.
He urged the youth to help build a “nation of wealth creators, not leisure seekers,” saying Uganda’s abundant land, favourable climate, youthful population and peace provide a strong foundation for economic transformation.
The President concluded by wishing Ugandans peaceful International Youth Day celebrations and called upon the youth to take an active role in building a prosperous and self-reliant Uganda.
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