The Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Winnie Byanyima writes to Yoweri Museveni Tibuhaburwa about his recent remarks concerning jobless young people and those moving to Gulf desert (countries) especially Dubai while leaving ” his Paradise” looking for jobs.
An Open Letter to President Museveni; Our Young People Need Jobs, Not Mockery
Dear Mr. President,
Many years ago, we and many others shared a dream of building a Uganda in which every young person could find dignity, opportunity and hope at home. We believed that Uganda’s vast natural resources, fertile land, entrepreneurial people and hard-won peace would create a future in which our children would not be forced to leave their country in search of survival.
It is therefore painful to hear young Ugandans mocked for leaving the country in search of work when so many feel they have no other choice.
I was saddened to hear your recent comments about young Ugandans who leave for Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries in search of work.
These young men and women are not leaving because they do not love Uganda. They are leaving because they cannot find sufficient opportunities at home.
Many work as cleaners, security guards, drivers, caregivers, construction workers and domestic workers. They endure separation from their families, loneliness, difficult working conditions and, in some cases, exploitation and abuse. Yet they persevere because they want to support their parents, educate their children, pay medical bills, build homes and create a better future for their families.
These young Ugandans deserve our respect and gratitude, not ridicule.
The facts tell a very different story from the one implied by your remarks.
Today, remittances from Ugandans working abroad are among the country’s largest sources of foreign exchange. Ugandans in the diaspora, I included, send home billions of dollars every year. These funds pay school fees, support healthcare, feed families, build houses, start small businesses and provide a lifeline for millions of households.
Most remittances are not large transfers. They are modest amounts sent regularly by ordinary workers making extraordinary sacrifices for their loved ones.
In many years, remittance inflows have rivalled or exceeded earnings from some of Uganda’s most important export sectors. These workers abroad are not a burden on Uganda. They are helping sustain families and supporting the economy.
The more important question is this – Why are so many young Ugandans leaving in the first place?
You have led Uganda for nearly four decades and are now beginning your ninth term in office. No other leader can reasonably claim that Uganda’s successes are his alone while distancing himself from its failures. The responsibility for both rests with your government.
During your years in power, Uganda’s population has more than doubled and millions of young people enter the labour market every year. Yet job creation has consistently failed to keep pace.
This is not primarily a failure of Uganda’s youth.
It is a failure of economic policy.
In the 1990s and the years that followed, your government embraced the prescriptions of the international financial institutions: liberalise, privatise and let the market lead. Uganda did not pursue the kind of active industrial policy that transformed countries in East and Southeast Asia. We did not invest sufficiently in labour-intensive manufacturing, agro-processing, value addition and strategic sectors capable of creating jobs at scale.
Agriculture, which remains the largest source of livelihoods for Ugandans, has never received the level of investment needed to transform it into a powerful engine of employment and prosperity. Rural incomes remain low, productivity remains weak and many young people see little future in farming.
Tourism offers another powerful example of missed opportunity.
Uganda is one of the most naturally gifted countries in the world. We have the source of the Nile, mountain gorillas, extraordinary wildlife, stunning landscapes, rich cultures and a favourable climate.
Tourism should be one of Uganda’s largest employers.
Yet our performance has consistently fallen short of our potential.
Part of the reason is that tourism depends heavily on peace, stability and international confidence. Uganda’s repeated involvement in military conflicts within the region, recurring security concerns and negative travel advisories have often undermined the efforts of tourism investors and entrepreneurs.
We must also acknowledge the enormous economic cost of the prolonged conflict in Northern Uganda. For more than twenty years, the war between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army devastated livelihoods, displaced millions of people and left deep social and economic scars. Entire communities were uprooted, productive land was abandoned, businesses collapsed and generations of children lost educational opportunities.
Many Ugandans believe that a political solution could and should have been pursued much earlier, sparing countless lives and reducing the immense suffering endured by the people of Northern Uganda. The resources consumed by the conflict could instead have been invested in schools, health centres, roads, agriculture and job creation.
Wars do not only destroy lives. They also destroy economies. They divert public resources from productive investment, discourage tourism, deter investors and undermine confidence in a country’s future.
Imagine what might have been achieved if Uganda had consistently prioritised peaceful conflict resolution, national reconciliation and regional diplomacy. Hundreds of thousands of additional jobs could have been created in tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and services. Incomes would be higher, public revenues stronger and opportunities greater for Uganda’s young people.
The experience of our neighbours is instructive.
Kenya has faced its own political and security challenges, yet successive governments have understood the economic value of projecting the country as a stable tourism and investment destination. Tourism today contributes billions of dollars annually to the Kenyan economy and supports hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
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Tanzania has similarly invested in peace, conservation, infrastructure and destination marketing. The Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar have become globally recognised brands, generating substantial foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities for Tanzanians.
Uganda is every bit as blessed. We have mountain gorillas, the source of the Nile, exceptional wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural diversity. Yet we have not realised anything close to our potential.
Peace is not only a moral imperative. It is also an economic strategy.
Consider the example of Rwanda.
Uganda is home to nearly two-thirds of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. By nature’s gift alone, Uganda should be the undisputed leader in gorilla tourism.
Yet Rwanda has demonstrated what focused government strategy can achieve.
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Over the last two decades, Rwanda has invested heavily in roads, airports, hospitality, destination branding and international marketing. It has carefully cultivated a reputation for safety, efficiency and high-quality visitor experiences. Gorilla tourism has been treated as a national strategic industry.
As a result, Rwanda often earns more tourism revenue per visitor than Uganda despite having far fewer mountain gorillas.
The lesson is clear. Natural resources alone do not create jobs. Strategic public investment, effective institutions, marketing, infrastructure and good governance do.
Uganda possesses extraordinary advantages, but advantages must be translated into employment and incomes through deliberate policy choices.
Corruption and nepotism have also become major job killers.
Every shilling stolen from public funds is a road not built, an irrigation scheme not completed, a tourism site not developed, a factory not established and a business not supported.
Corruption discourages investors, raises the cost of doing business and undermines fair competition. Talented young Ugandans without political connections are locked out of opportunities while resources that could generate employment are diverted into private pockets.
The cost is measured not only in money but in lost jobs, lost enterprises and lost dreams.
The result is that many capable and ambitious Ugandans conclude that their best chance of survival lies abroad.
Mr. President, our young people do not need lectures.
They need jobs.
They need an economy that rewards hard work and talent.
They need a government that sees their struggles, understands their frustrations and responds with practical solutions.
Instead of criticising those who leave, why not make a commitment to the nation?
Why not publish every month the number of jobs created in Uganda?
Democratic governments around the world regularly publish employment data and are held accountable for economic performance. Citizens are entitled to know whether jobs are being created, in which sectors and at what pace.
As you begin your ninth term in office, make a simple pledge to Uganda’s youth – Every month, tell the nation how many jobs have been created, where they have been created and what concrete measures your government is taking to expand opportunities.
That would be accountability.
That would be leadership.
And that would show respect for the young Ugandans whose future depends on the answers.
Do not mock the youth who leave.
Answer the question they are asking.
After nearly four decades in power, where are the jobs?
Respectfully,
Winnie Byanyima
5 June 2026