President Museveni has said Uganda already has enough opportunities to create wealth and jobs for its young people, arguing that the problem is not lack of work but a failure by many youths to understand where real wealth comes from.
Museveni who was speaking during an interaction with youth dubbed 'Jazz With Jajja' responded to a question on what government is doing to stop young Ugandans from going abroad for work, only to end up exploited, instead of staying home and building wealth.
"Those youths have not listened well to our advice," Museveni said. "Jobs and wealth are found in four main sectors."
He identified agriculture as the biggest source of employment if properly managed. "Wealth and jobs are found in agriculture, but agriculture with calculation," he emphasized.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
To illustrate his point, the President cited a local farmer. "There is a man called Nyakaana," Museveni said. "He has only 1.3 acres, but on that land he keeps dairy cows, poultry for eggs, and other enterprises."
Museveni broke down the figures to show how small-scale farming can generate serious income. "Nyakaana sells 120 trays of eggs every day," he said. "He earns about shs300,000 as net profit per day. That is shs9 million per month."
According to the President, Nyakaana's success goes beyond personal wealth. "From what he does on one acre, he employs 15 people," Museveni said. "One acre has created jobs for 15 Ugandans."
Museveni then scaled up the example to national level. "Uganda has about 40 million acres of agricultural land," he said. "Even if we use only 7 million acres and people work like Nyakaana, we would create 105 million jobs."
"This means we can create more jobs than the population we have.Even refugees would have jobs, and more people would come looking for work here."
He stressed that wealth creation must start with individual effort. "Nyakaana first got his own wealth," Museveni said. "And that wealth then created jobs for others."
The President blamed what he called mental distortion for the continued unemployment narrative. "Jobs are here," he said. "The problem is that many youths are disoriented by Europeans."
Beyond agriculture, Museveni pointed to other sectors with huge employment potential. "There are jobs in manufacturing," he said. "There are jobs in services -- boda bodas, ICT, transport, trade."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"Jobs are here," he repeated. "The potential for jobs is here."
Museveni questioned why, despite these opportunities, many youths choose to leave the country. "You leave these jobs and go for slavery in Arab countries," he said, referring to Ugandans seeking work abroad under harsh conditions.
He insisted that government's message has been consistent. "We have been telling you where the jobs are," Museveni said. "If you listen and apply yourselves, you can become wealthy here at home and even employ others."
