How they will govern the country

Independent presidential candidate Joseph Elton Mabirizi.

What you need to know:

Here is how. Candidates state how they will curb corruption, beef up security and improve livelihoods of the citizens

Amama Mbabazi

On governance
1.Stop wastage of public resources and instead aim to invest resources in people on an equitable basis.
2.Amend the Leadership Code to include empowering the Inspector General of Government to access financial records of all public officers, compare them to the declarations submitted and publish an annual report.
3.All public servants shall be required to not only declare their assets but also their sources of income.
4.Institute and nurture a national value system that can be identified with by all people of Uganda irrespective of tribe and social status.
5.Begin to build a culture of honesty and integrity that moves people away from asking for brides and also to out rightly reject unsolicited kickbacks. More people must be encouraged to blow the whistle and to isolate the corrupt.
6.Put in place measures to counter corruption by introducing accountability through a free press, greater transparency and easier access to information on public sector borrowing by civil society and other interested parties.
7.Conduct mass sensitisation and awareness on the effects of corruption on the population in order to recruit a critical mass of citizens determined to uproot corruption from Uganda.
8.Work with civil society to enhance greater understanding of social contracts amongst the citizenry thereby empowering them to question, challenge and hold elected and appointed leaders to account.
9.Institute social accountability platforms at sub-county levels where the rights holders interface with the duty bearers (both government and private sector) to discuss issues of concern and to wage rigorous campaigns against corruption.
10. Enhance partnerships with media, civil society and the entire citizenry to report corruption cases while ensuring sufficient protection for the whistle blowers.
11. Put in place stringent measures to ensure stolen money is recovered. These include freezing and liquidating the assets of all those found guilty in order to retrieve as much of the stolen funds as possible.

On Security

Independent presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi.

Our forces need to be adequately clothed, provided with proper equipment and modern arms expected of advanced and contemporary servicemen and women in order to protect our borders and be ahead of the evolving nature of warfare and terrorism.
We will balance the delicate issue guaranteeing that every Ugandan is protected against authoritarian measures that erode our individual freedoms while ensuring that our security and intelligence agencies are at the same time able to keep us safe in a highly globalised world.
Our forces, shall enjoy quality health coverage, including, psycho-social support for our combatants and their families.
VETERANS
We commit to paying veterans pensions arrears and normalising the monthly payments thereof.
We commit to a day when Ugandans will celebrate the sacrifice of all the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces and remember the families of those that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Caring for veterans, both living and dead, is a national duty for each citizen and therefore we shall have a Veterans Day

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

On security

NRM presidential flag bearer Yoweri Museveni.


1.Continue professionalising and modernising defence and security forces. This will be achieved through further improvement of the capability of the defence and security forces and will include acquisition and maintenance of equipment, human capital development and establishment of a National Defence College, and the Institute for Security Studies.
2.Improving crime control, detection, prevention and investigation. We will employ appropriate technologies such as CCTV cameras to help the Police fight crime.
3.Developing defence and security infrastructure — The NRM Government will continue with the construction of barracks to provide a conducive and habitable living environment for the personnel, as part of the welfare improvement programme in the UPDF and UPF. Temporary structures in barracks will be replaced with permanent ones. This will include developing and rehabilitating other welfare facilities such as health, education and sports infrastructure in every barracks.
4.Strengthening Research and Development — In order to keep pace with global trends in science, technology and innovation
5.Promoting production for wealth creation and self-sustainability. Defence and security will fully operationalize its mandate of contributing to national development.
6.Strengthening of internal and external security — the internal and external security of the country will be strengthened by enhancing information collection and analysis capabilities.
7.Establishment of National Service — A modern National Service programme will be designed and implemented for the youth, school leavers and pre-tertiary students aimed at inculcating patriotism.

On Governance

1. Economic and political emancipation of women still remains one of the NRM’s priorities as a strategy for prosperity for all.
2. Improving efficiency of the public service and reducing the cost of doing business.
3. Continuing with affirmative action programmes. We will continue with the existing affirmative action programmes and projects in northern
4. Uganda, parts of eastern Uganda, Karamoja and Luwero/Rwenzori
5. Improving access to justice. In order to improve access to justice, our resolve is to take justice nearer to the people. Strengthening the legal institutional frameworks.
6. Media Freedom. Continue ensuring and guaranteeing media freedom.
7. Strengthening Decentralisation.

Kiiza Besigye

On Security

FDC presidential flag bearer Dr Kizza Besigye.

1. Establish the Independent Security Services Commission vested with the mandate to determine discipline, promotions, and commissions; as well as handle complaints and all other matters related to the army, police, intelligence agencies and all other security agencies.
2. Ensure the welfare of the men and women who serve in our military and provision of adequate equipment and materials when they are on mission.
3. Build economic power to facilitate and compel cooperation while maintaining the ability to intervene in potentially destabilizing conflicts within the framework of the East African Community, African Union and the United Nations.
4. Counter terrorism and extremism through effective intelligence, joint counter terrorism operations and expanding economic opportunities for the youth and marginalized groups.
5.Investing in enhancing our Nation’s cyber security capabilities.
6. Strengthening our Nation’s intelligence capabilities to detect, defeat or avoid threats improve the welfare of the armed forces; police, military, prison and intelligence personnel, with special emphasis on salaries, housing, health care, dependents’ education, and pensions. The minimum salary of the lowest paid officer shall be Shs650,000.
7.Prioritise the payment of retirement benefits and other emoluments that have been pending to date.

On Governance
1. Pursue constitutional reforms to facilitate the adoption of a federal system of government that allows regions to exercise political, administrative and economic planning authority.
2. Strengthening decentralization and local economic development by adopting policies to achieve administrative and fiscal decentralization, and supporting federal and local governments to become units of economic organization and transformation.
3. Progressively increase the percentage of the annual national budget allocated to local government spending programmes from the current 14 per cent to atleast not less than 30 percent over the five years.
4. Support the economic vitality of local governments through the Present and Future Cities Programme and other economic stimulus programmes.
5. Establish a rewards programme to benefit regions and local governments that demonstrate the highest contribution to our Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and innovation in accelerating job creation.

Joseph Elton Mabirizi

1. Security for all, beyond tear gas and protection of the privileged few. We shall establish a Central Intelligence Bureau to replace ISO, ESO
2. Strong local and regional governments
3. Institutional Representation in Parliament and Local government councils. Sectors like Agriculture, Business, Transport, Performing Arts, The Professions - to be represented in Parliament. Members will be elected through the respective organized bodies (e.g Uganda Law Society for the legal profession).

Other candidates
Abed Bwanika, Maureen Kyalya, Benon Biraro and Venansius Baryamureeba do not have published positions on security and governance.