Uganda: Budget Aligns With NRM Manifesto, Ten-Fold Growth Agenda - - Katabazi

Rukiga County MP and policy analyst Patrick Katabazi has said the government's Shs84.3 trillion budget is closely aligned with the National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto for the 2026-2031 term, particularly in areas aimed at driving economic transformation and advancing the government's ten-fold growth strategy.

The spending plan, approved by Parliament in April and due for implementation in the new financial year, is the first budget of the current political term and comes as government seeks to translate campaign pledges into concrete programmes.

The budget prioritises agro-industrialisation, tourism development, mineral-based industrialisation, science, technology and innovation, alongside strategic investments in infrastructure and human capital development.

According to Katabazi, these priorities mirror commitments made by the NRM during the 2026 general election campaign.

"The budget that is going to be read today has a direct link to the manifesto. The key themes that the President and the NRM campaigned on are clearly reflected in the budget," Katabazi told Nile Post.

The NRM manifesto, launched under the theme Protecting the Gains and Securing a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status, places significant emphasis on industrialisation, wealth creation, infrastructure expansion, human capital development and economic transformation.

Katabazi said the budget's focus on agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral-based industrialisation and innovation demonstrates continuity between the manifesto and government spending priorities.

Among the key areas he highlighted is infrastructure development, including plans to advance the Standard Gauge Railway project and continue investment in major road projects such as the Kampala-Jinja Expressway.

"Expansion of physical infrastructure is one of the key promises in the NRM manifesto and this budget speaks directly to that," he said.

The legislator also pointed to continued investment in irrigation schemes as evidence of government's commitment to agricultural transformation.

According to Katabazi, irrigation projects are intended to help farmers reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture, particularly in areas increasingly affected by changing weather patterns.

Another area he cited is the Parish Development Model (PDM), which remains a central pillar of the government's wealth-creation agenda.

The NRM manifesto commits to strengthening household income support programmes, including PDM. Government has allocated about Shs2.5 trillion to wealth-creation initiatives such as PDM, Emyooga