KAMPALA, UGANDA — Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) Civil Coordinator for Greater Kampala Metropolitan, Edison Kirabira, has called on supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to put political differences aside and unite around production, enterprise and income-generating activities as a practical pathway out of poverty.
Speaking on Monday at the OWC branch offices in Munyonyo, near Speke Resort, Kirabira said political competition should not become a permanent distraction from the economic challenges facing Ugandan households, particularly young people.
“It is time for serious work. Leave politics aside,” Kirabira said, urging citizens to channel more of their energy into commercial farming, entrepreneurship, skills development and other productive activities.
Kirabira clarified that his message is not a call for Ugandans to abandon politics, but rather for political affiliation not to become a barrier to economic cooperation.
His argument is straightforward: Ugandans can disagree politically and still work together economically.
A NUP supporter can trade with an NRM supporter. An NRM supporter can farm with a NUP supporter. Young people from different political backgrounds can build enterprises together, while communities divided at the ballot box can still unite around shared economic needs.
When politics meets the household
For Kirabira, economic challenges do not recognise political party colours.
A young person looking for work remains unemployed regardless of political affiliation. A farmer needs productive inputs and reliable markets regardless of whom he or she supports. A small business owner needs customers, skills and capital, while families need food, education, healthcare and sustainable incomes.
He therefore wants political leaders and their supporters to redirect part of their energy towards activities that directly improve household livelihoods.
Political participation, he argues, is important, but it should not consume the productive years of young Ugandans.
“It is time for serious work,” he reiterated.
For Kirabira, that work means production.
From political mobilisation to economic mobilisation
Kirabira’s message is closely aligned with the wealth-creation philosophy of Operation Wealth Creation, a Government initiative focused on encouraging households to participate in productive economic activities, particularly commercial agriculture.
His appeal, however, extends beyond agriculture to include entrepreneurs, young people, skilled workers, traders and small businesses.
He urged citizens to assess Government development programmes based on the opportunities they create for households rather than viewing them exclusively through political lenses.
The real test of an economic intervention, he argued, should be whether it contributes to production, income, skills, employment or a sustainable livelihood.
A programme may exist on paper, but its ultimate value must be reflected in the lives of ordinary citizens.
The NUP-NRM divide should not become an economic divide
Kirabira’s appeal deliberately crosses Uganda’s political divide.
He called on NUP and NRM supporters to recognise that political disagreement does not have to translate into social or economic hostility.
They do not have to agree politically to work together. They do not have to vote alike to trade. They do not have to belong to the same party to build a business, and they do not have to campaign together to improve their communities.
The marketplace does not ask for a party card before people can trade.
The farm does not ask for political identity before producing food.
And poverty does not distinguish between political supporters.
The youth at the centre
Kirabira’s strongest appeal is directed at young Ugandans, whom he urged not to allow political confrontation to consume the years in which they can acquire skills, establish enterprises and build productive assets.
Time spent endlessly fighting political battles can instead be used to learn a skill, establish a business, cultivate a commercial crop, build professional networks or develop an income-generating idea.
His message is therefore one of balance.
Young Ugandans can participate in politics while simultaneously building their economic future. They can debate national issues and still work. They can support different political parties and still cooperate in enterprise.
They can disagree politically without becoming economic enemies.
Nakasero II and the grassroots development mission
Kirabira, who also oversees OWC activities in Nakasero II, said his grassroots work is driven by the need to encourage citizens to embrace development and productive economic activity.
According to information provided by Kirabira, he was appointed to coordinate OWC civil activities in Nakasero II by Gen. Salim Saleh.
His Greater Kampala Metropolitan role has expanded his platform for engaging communities on economic development.
The metropolitan environment presents economic realities that differ from those of rural communities. For many residents, wealth creation may involve entrepreneurship, trade, transport, services, technology, professional work and other forms of enterprise.
But Kirabira says the underlying question remains the same:
What is putting money into the household?
Government programmes must reach the household
Kirabira urged citizens to take advantage of legitimate Government development programmes available to them, regardless of political affiliation.
However, accessing a programme, he said, should only be the beginning. Beneficiaries must understand the purpose of interventions and use available resources responsibly and productively.
This places an important responsibility on grassroots leaders and community mobilisers, who must help citizens understand opportunities, encourage participation, promote accountability and support the productive use of resources.
Economic transformation cannot be achieved through distribution alone.
It requires production. It requires skills. It requires discipline. It requires markets. And it requires citizens willing to work.
Social media as an economic tool
Kirabira’s message also has a digital dimension.
As Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of Uganda Social Media Influencers Ltd, he believes social media platforms can be used to promote productive citizens, businesses, skills and legitimate economic opportunities.
Instead of allowing digital spaces to be dominated by political confrontation, he wants them to become platforms for ideas, enterprise and economic opportunity.
A young person can use social media to market a product. A farmer can find customers. An entrepreneur can build a brand. A skilled worker can find clients, while communities can share information about legitimate opportunities.
The smartphone, in Kirabira’s vision, should therefore become not only a political microphone but also an economic tool.
The politics of poverty
There is a deeper question beneath Kirabira’s message.
Political mobilisation can generate excitement, loyalty and identity. But political debate alone does not generate household income.
A political argument cannot by itself pay school fees. A rally cannot replace a sustainable business. A social media confrontation cannot substitute for a productive skill, and political victory does not automatically translate into economic security for an ordinary family.
Kirabira therefore wants citizens to begin measuring progress differently.
How much are we producing?
How many young people are acquiring skills?
How many households are establishing sustainable enterprises?
How many businesses are growing?
How effectively are development opportunities reaching citizens?
He argues that these questions should become part of Uganda’s broader development conversation.
A new kind of unity
Kirabira is not asking Ugandans to erase their political differences. He is asking them not to allow those differences to prevent cooperation where such cooperation can improve lives.
That, he says, is a different kind of unity.
NUP and NRM supporters do not have to agree on every political question to agree that young people need productive livelihoods.
They do not have to share the same political beliefs to agree that farmers need markets.
They do not have to vote alike to cooperate in building businesses.
The common ground is economic survival and development.
From the campaign ground to the production ground
Uganda’s political seasons will continue.
Elections will come. Campaigns will begin. Parties will compete. Citizens will choose.
But when the rallies end, households will still have to survive.
The farmer must return to the garden. The entrepreneur must return to the business. The young person must acquire a skill. The worker must earn. The family must plan, and the community must produce.
Kirabira wants political leaders to mobilise citizens not only when votes are needed, but also when production is needed.
The most meaningful grassroots mobilisation, he argues, may ultimately be mobilisation that puts people to work.
The question for political leaders
Kirabira’s message raises a broader question for political leadership:
What happens after mobilisation?
If citizens can be mobilised to vote, can they also be mobilised to produce?
If young people can be mobilised to attend rallies, can they also be mobilised to acquire skills?
If supporters can organise around political causes, can they organise around enterprise?
If social media can mobilise political opinion within hours, can it also mobilise communities around markets, skills and productive opportunities?
These questions challenge leaders across the political divide to expand the meaning of mobilisation.
Leadership should not only tell citizens what to oppose.
It should also show them what to build.
“Leave politics aside”
Kirabira’s call is ultimately a plea for balance.
“It is time for serious work. Leave politics aside.”
The statement is not necessarily a rejection of democratic participation. Rather, it is a call to prevent political confrontation from becoming the permanent centre of national life.
Ugandans can hold different political opinions. They can support different parties. They can campaign and vote.
But they can also farm, trade, acquire skills, build enterprises, create jobs and increase household incomes.
They can work together.
That, Kirabira argues, is the economic unity Uganda needs.
The future belongs to those who build
A family that moves from dependence to production has changed.
A young person who acquires a marketable skill gains greater economic opportunity.
A farmer who moves towards commercial production enters a different economic space.
A small business that grows enough to employ another person creates value beyond its owner.
These quiet economic victories may not dominate political headlines, but they can gradually transform communities.
This is why Kirabira’s appeal to NUP and NRM supporters extends beyond the two political camps. It is an invitation to redefine what citizens do with their energy after politics.
Uganda does not need citizens to stop thinking.
It needs citizens to start building.
It does not need less political participation. It needs political participation accompanied by economic participation.
It does not need young people permanently trapped in confrontation. It needs young people acquiring skills, creating enterprises and producing wealth.
Because political seasons come and go.
But poverty is confronted every day.
From the OWC offices in Munyonyo, Kirabira’s message is unmistakable:
The next great mobilisation should not only be about who leads Uganda. It should also be about what Ugandans can build together.
The ballot may determine political leadership, but production determines whether households move forward.
For Kirabira, the time for serious work is now.
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