By Mulengera Reporters
Since the year 2013, the leadership of the National Planning Authority (NPA) closely working with the Uganda Visionaries Advisory Board has been organizing the Visionaries of Uganda awards event.
The event (whose pioneering edition in 2013 was presided over by President Museveni himself) is organized annually to recognize and prize organizations and individual actors who lead their organizations and render services in a way that accelerates the realization of Uganda’s long term development objectives and priorities enshrined under the Vision 2040 and the currently ongoing National Development Plan (NDP 4). Both Vision 2040 and the relevant NDPs, deriving from it, are focused on accelerating the realization of President’s socio-economic transformation agenda.
Those recognized at the annual awards event are individuals leading and doing stuff under sectors like water, health, education, ICT, construction, oil & gas, security services provision, trade, commerce, lawyering, mining and others. The event is used as a platform to publicly recognize outstanding performers in that direction, who also get to be profiled and their achievement or accomplishments publicized during the awards event, which always attracts plenty of media cameras.
For this year 2025, the event was held at Serena Conference Centre’s Katonga Hall where the Vice President Jessica Alupo (joined by senior Ministers like Musa Ecweru, Peter Lokeris etc) presided over. This was her second time, representing the President, to preside over. The previous time she presided over was for the November 2022 edition.
In her Thursday speech, Alupo commended the organizers for annually convening the event for the last 13 years without fail. She commended Visionaries Advisory Board team leader Job Mwesigwa for not letting down the President, who she described as Uganda’s Chief Visionary, by keeping the awards going.
Alupo said the awards event is in line with the President’s determination to transform Uganda from being a subsistence economy into a middle-income country through socio-economic interventions as is enshrined and is well stipulated under Vision 2040 and the constituent NDPs. The current one is NDP4 and it articulates the things and interventions the NRM government intends to undertake to transform Uganda in an inclusive manner that ensures no one is left behind.
The VP enumerated the infrastructural projects which have been accomplished and those ongoing, all aimed at ensuring Uganda has enough electricity and transport means that are high quality and yet affordable to citizens at the same time. She referred to major road projects, the SGR and efforts aimed at harnessing water transport.
She concluded that Uganda is lucky to be led by a party like NRM founded and spearheaded by a visionary leader like Gen YK Museveni. She thanked God for his long life and also called on public entities and private sector leaders present to each do what they can to ensure that come 15th January 2026, Ugandans overwhelmingly re-elect Museveni so that the agenda for socio-economic transformation of Uganda continues without disruption.
“Even our father in heaven won’t forgive us if we don’t ensure that the country’s chief visionary is returned to State House with an overwhelming electoral victory,” Alupo said.
Alupo then proceeded to recognize the five major visionaries for the year 2025 and presented their respective representatives with awards of recognition and certificates. The major leading five, as was carefully selected by a panel of researchers and experts, included BIDCO which took the slot of the best manufacturer of the year. They were recognized for their palm oil growing projects in Kalangala and other island areas plus their involvement in cooking oil manufacturing for both the Ugandan market and exportation.
Maritza International Uganda was recognized for being the best international health sector supplier organization of the year 2025. Whereas ISBAT University, based along Lugogo bypass, was recognized for being the best University of the year when it comes to being deliberate about realizing Uganda’s long-term development objectives, ACORNS Group of International Schools emerged Uganda’s best international school of the year 2025. ACORNS has campuses at Kisaasi, Bunga and Lubowa in Uganda’s case. They are also present in Kigali as well.
Allied Health Professionals Council was recognized for their efficient regulatory work and the same happened for Dr. David Nahamya-led National Drug Authority. These two emerged best regulators in the health sector and were commended for their adherence to best practices and high regulatory standards and thereby making all Ugandans safer.
Trading activities-facilitating Trade Mark Africa, whose Uganda country manager Anna Nambooze was represented by Ms Praxeda Ndagire who delivered an eloquent speech quantifying their interventions and trade-enhancing activities, was also recognized among Uganda’s leading visionaries for the year 2025, from the side of non-state actors. Bank of Uganda was also recognized for its role in amplifying the President’s socio-economic transformation agenda especially through the rolling out of the Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) which has impacted hundreds of Ugandans.
The Egyptian Ambassador to Uganda was also present and used the platform to, at length, explain the ways in which the economic and diplomatic relationship between Kampala and Cairo will go a long way in enabling the country’s long term socio-economic transformation objectives to be realized.
He quantified the contribution the 25 business firms, companies and businesses from Egypt are making. He made specific reference to Arab Contractors, Mantrac which avails generators and the firm involved in the construction of regional sporting stadia in different parts of the country.
Jinja School of Nursing was also recognized for its contribution to President Museveni’s socio-economic transformation agenda by way of contributing to Uganda’s human capital development. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
