KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni has assembled a high-level team to lead the mandatory registration of all Ugandans living abroad, an initiative he says is critical for national planning and development.
The president appointed Maj. (Ret.) Awich Pollar, director for external affairs at the National Resistance Movement Secretariat, and Ambassador Abbey Walusimbi, the senior presidential advisor on diaspora affairs, to spearhead the effort. They have been tasked with coordinating the registration across all Ugandans in the diaspora, regardless of their political affiliation.
The State House Diaspora Unit, represented by Henry Wabyona Araali, the president’s private secretary on diaspora, will also support the team.
Museveni emphasized the need to identify citizens “name by name, country by country” to improve national planning.
Speaking on behalf of the newly formed team, Walusimbi expressed gratitude to the president for his engagement with Ugandans abroad. “As a team, we pledge to continue working together to strengthen connections and fly Uganda’s flag higher on the global stage,” he said, signaling the group’s readiness to execute the president’s directive.
Museveni also pledged to create a strategic position for a diaspora member within the Uganda Investment Authority to facilitate investments, and he welcomed the idea of diaspora representation on the National Resistance Movement Central Executive Committee.
The registration initiative is part of a broader effort by the government to formalize its relationship with Ugandans abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reportedly finalizing a new diaspora policy expected to be launched by December.
