Uganda the Pearl of Africa at 63

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OPINION

By Hellen T. Shwanda

Uganda is situated at the geographical heart of the African continent. 

It is one of the East African Community (EAC) Partner States. 

Uganda has been ranked among Africa’s fastest-growing economies since 1986, when the NRM came into power. There has been a lot of work behind this success story. 

We give credit to His Excellency, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who has led us with a lot of wisdom and is a key player in the EAC integration. 

At 63 years of Independence, Uganda boasts of a tourism sector that has undergone tremendous recovery, with international arrivals reaching 1.4 million in 2025, a 7.7% increase from 2023.

We thank God for the beauty of our motherland, Uganda; the cultural diversity, beautiful weather, fertile land, the bounty of natural resources and the boundless creativity of the youthful generation. 

We have a new dawn in the Uganda tourism sector – Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Uganda. This new destination brand has been embraced by many Ugandans around the globe, but more so, in the EAC region. A visit to our Consulate in Arusha, Tanzania, demonstrates unprecedented love for domestic tourism.

Indeed, Uganda is a land of freedom, as stated in the second stanza of our National Anthem, “Oh Uganda, the land of freedom”. 

The NRM government ushered in freedom that allows every citizen to worship in whatever form. 

However, our President Yoweri K.  Museveni reminds us, “It is not enough to speak of freedom of speech and freedom from arrest.  People must have freedom from hunger, disease and leaking roofs.” 

Poverty in Uganda has been fought through various programmes such as the Poverty Action Plan(PAP), Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), Bona Bagaggawale (Prosperity for All), Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and the Parish Development Model (PDM). The latter programme is a key initiative by the government to drive social economic transformation geared at creating wealth and jobs, improving service delivery to wanainchi/omuntu wawansi (grassroots communities).  The latter initiative has made 67% of Ugandans enter the money economy.

The NRM has led Uganda for 40 years. This is no mean feat and achievement. For those who experienced the 1979 Liberation War, we can never take for granted the peace that we enjoy. 

During this war, I walked from Bweranyangi Girls SSS in Bushenyi to my home in Rukungiri district, a journey of three days on foot. We salute the gallant sons and daughters who liberated us. The credit goes to His Excellency, the President, for steering Uganda to great heights and giving us stability. 

Life expectancy in Uganda has risen above the Sub-Saharan African average to near global levels. There could not have been a better theme for Uganda’s 63^rd Independence anniversary than this: “A reason to Double our Efforts in sustaining a United and Progressive Nation.”

The writer is an author of ‘Positive Parenting’ and a former employee of the East African Community.