President Yoweri Museveni has attributed Uganda’s rate of growth to the improved energy sector and infrastructure development.
In his New Year message to the nation, Museveni said last financial year, Uganda’s economy survived the global economic crisis, which had been running for several years.
“This decent rate of growth shows us what can be achieved if you bear in mind that we only had adequate electricity in the last two years when Bujagali was commissioned,” he said.
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Museveni compared the situation to after 2005, where Uganda had been having either electricity shortages or very expensive electricity because of using very costly imported diesel or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).
He hailed the government for constructing electricity dams and tarmac roads which have transformed the economy of the country.
“Those three: the electricity, the railway and the roads, are so crucial that if you do not deal with them, the economy will never be transformed,” President Museveni said.
Museveni also emphasizes that the three key issues influence greatly the costs of production, the costs of doing business, in an economy.
He notes that with these three are undone, it is impossible to industrialize and attract other businesses (services).
The President also explains that the issues were not dealt with well before because the country over-depended on aid which was never enough.
“The little that came in never came on time. We could, therefore, never make a decisive impact on these three,” he said.
He however, says that today, the country’s money and tax collection has increased to 9,000 billion shillings from 5 billion shillings collected in 1986 and therefore can tackle some of these three, “provided we discipline ourselves in terms of expenditure ─ limit consumption and emphasize productive investment.”
Museveni also advises the public to focus on wealth creation in their homes to eradicate poverty and solve other issues like contributing for the construction of their catholic church
“While the Government is winning the struggle for infrastructure, the entirety of the people of Uganda must, universally, immerse themselves in the struggle for the creation of wealth at the household level.
He further encourages all the rural households that have land to do so through commercialized agriculture.
“If all the leaders focused on this, the rural economy would change.”
