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| Museveni makes his point at SOTN. PHOTO PPU |
State of the Nation Address 2019 by President
Yoweri Museveni
His Excellency the Vice
President;
Rt. Hon. Speaker of
Parliament;
His Lordship the Chief
Justice;
Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker;
His Lordship the Deputy
Chief Justice;
Rt. Hon. Prime Minister;
Rt. Hon. Deputy Prime
Ministers;
Rt. Hon. Leader of
Opposition;
Their Highnesses the
Traditional Leaders;
Hon. Ministers;
Hon. Members of Parliament;
Hon. Members of EALA;
Members of the Diplomatic
Corps;
Distinguished Guests;
Madam Speaker, in fulfilment of the Constitutional requirement under
Article 101 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, I am here to
deliver the State of the Nation Address, 2019.
Madam Speaker, since my last Address, a number of Ugandans have departed
from this earth. Some of whom are:
The Late Prof. Apollo Nsibambi, the former Prime Minister of Uganda;
The Late Hon. Col (Rtd) Ibrahim Abiriga, Member of Parliament, Arua
Municipality;
The Late Rt. Rev. Cyprian Kikunhi Bamwoze, Bishop Emeritus of Busoga
Diocese;
The Late Rt. Reverend. Augustine Arapyona Salimo, Bishop Emeritus of
Sebei Diocese;
The Late Assistant Superintendent of Police, Muhammad Kirumira;
The Late Ambassador Julius Onen, the Permanent Secretary - Ministry of
Trade, Industry and Co-operatives;
More than 31 people who died when a party boat capsized on Lake
Victoria;
The 4 Kenyan Pilgrims who were knocked by a hit and run car when coming
to Uganda for Martyrs Day;
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| Namugongo. PHOTO PPU |
Bududa people that lost lives in the mudslide; and more others.
Madam Speaker, I request that we all stand up and observe a moment of
silence in memory of the departed persons. May
the Almighty God rest their souls in eternal peace.
Today is the 6th of June, 2019.
The 6th of June, 1944, was the date on which Allies in the 2nd World War
executed an amphibious landing in German occupied by France at Normandy
beaches. This was 3 months before I was born.
The 6th of June, 1981, aged 36 years and leading the PRA (Popular
Resistance Army), I departed Matugga by car, passed through Buwama trading
centre and embarked into a boat at Katebo landing site to cross the more than
200 miles Lake to Kenya to proceed to Libya to look for the weapons of the
struggle. Today, the 6th of June, 2019, here we are on the occasion of the
State of the Nation Address. There is
something interesting about the 6th of June.
SECURITY
The NRM Government remains committed to ensuring a secure and peaceful
Uganda. This has come about by promoting and upholding patriotism, democracy
and good governance as core values for National socio-economic transformation.
Significant focus has been placed on professionalizing and modernizing the
Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and building the Uganda Police Force (UPF)
capabilities.
Some months ago, killers, robbers and rapists had intensified their
activities. They were committing these
crimes with impunity because the Police had been infiltrated by criminals and
people who had been compromised in some ways.
The National Security Council reviewed the situation and came to some
conclusions. I addressed a special
sitting of Parliament on the 20th of June, 2018,where I outlined the measures
we had decided to take to cope with the heightened crime. A number of those
measures are being implemented. As I assured the country, that crime wave will
be defeated.
UPDF works with other security agencies to deter or curtail any acts of
lawlessness. The recent peaceful holding of the Martyrs Day, where an estimated
3 million people turned up, shows that Police and the UPDF already have good
capacity.
ECONOMY
Between 1986 and 2015, the economy grew at an annual average rate of
6.92% while per capita income grew at an annual average rate of 3.6% over the
same period.
No European country, not even the USA (except West Germany between 1950
and 1980 which did 3.8%) has grown its per capita income at the same rate as
Uganda over a period of three decades. Only East Asian Tigers sustained per
capita income growth of 5.6% during their intense period of transformation
between 1960 and 1990.
The growth of the per capita income at such high rate was in spite of
the high rates of population growth of 3.3% per annum. In order to put this
issue in perspective, Ugandans should be informed that between 1951 and 1961
during the colonial system, GDP per capita grew by 0.14%; between 1962 and
1970, it grew by 1.4%; between 1971 and 1980, it declined by -2.9%; and between
1982 and 1985, it grew by 0.8% and between 1986 -1995; it grew by 2.8% and
between 1996-2009, it grew by 3.6%. All this in spite of the strategic
bottlenecks such as shortage of electricity and high transport costs that were
not yet addressed that time. Note that per capita income is GDP growth minus
population growth.
To put it in a global context, between 1986 and 2015, Uganda was the
17th fastest growing economy in the world, the 4th in Africa. If we remove
mineral-rich countries from the sample (because they were enjoying God’s or
nature’s bounty), Uganda was 11th in the world, 1st in Africa.
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| Finance minister Kasaija briefs parliament earlier |
This achievement is the more impressive because Uganda was in civil war
from 1986 to 2005. The country is surrounded by Sudan to the north, which was
in civil war for the first 20 years of Uganda’s growth (1986 to 2005). To the west
is DR Congo, which has been in civil war between 1996 to now. To the south is
Rwanda, which was in civil war between 1990 and 1994. To the east is Kenya,
which was stagnating economically between 1986 and 2002.
Performance of the Economy
The size of the economy is Shs 109.738 trillion in FY 2018/19 equivalent
of USD 29.5 bn. The income per person is now equivalent to US$ 800. Although
this is below the level required to the attainment of the Middle Income Status,
the renewed impetus of the economy and the large economic base being created
will catapult the economy to prosperity within a short period in the future.
By the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) method of computing GDP, the
economy now stands at US$88.6billions which translates into US$2,400 per capita.
If this method was used, Uganda would already be a middle income
country. However, we are not going to
use short cuts. We shall use the export
promotion and import – substitution routes to storm across the medium income
barrier, not just the purchasing power route on account of our low cost of
living advantage, but by the exchange route method. It is now within reach.
Expanding the Economic Base
Uganda’s economic growth and development outlook is positive, with the
economy projected to grow at, at least, 7 percent in the medium term, but could
even be higher given that we have now sorted out the key constraints to growth.
The basis for this very positive outlook is the following:
i. Industrialization to promote exports using primarily agriculture as
the base; this includes industrialization along the agricultural value chain,
light manufacturing and processing our minerals into finished products; and
further diversification of the manufacturing sector to increase exports.
ii. Increasing production and productivity in the agricultural sector by
investing in quality inputs, extension services, storage facilities, access to
markets by improving standards and quality of agro-processing. Government is
also boosting the capital base of UDB to be able to lend to agriculture as well
as small scale industry. In addition, Government is implementing targeted
interventions in the Coffee Sector (Coffee Roadmap 2020), Tea and fruit
processing e.g. the Soroti Fruit Factory and supporting agricultural zoning and
out grower model around the nucleus farmers.
We are also working on stabilizing agriculture through irrigation.
iii. The commencement of oil and gas production and work on the Oil
Pipeline and the Refinery will be starting soon.
iv. Strengthening local content so that Ugandans can be integrated into
wealth creation as the economy expands, including improving local production
and supply capacities.
v. Improving efficiency in the execution of public investment, to
improve the returns on investment especially in the areas of energy, transport,
agriculture, tourism, water for consumption and production, and in education.
vi. Harnessing the benefits of regional integration through trade and
strengthening intra-African trade.
vii. Improving labour productivity through skills development tailored
to labour market demand.
Therefore, a firm foundation for industrialization and especially
manufacturing has been laid. We now have the fruit industry in Teso and
Luweero; Dairy industry in Ankole; Vegetable Oil industry in Kalangala; and Tea
industry in Toro and the Kigezi sub-regions; etc., etc. Government is providing financial support to
tea factories in Western Uganda including Kigezi Highland Tea Co. Limited,
Kayonza Growers Tea Factory and Mabale Growers Tea Factory Limited.
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| Soroti fruit factory |
In addition, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) has increased the supply
and distribution of tea seedlings in the region. In the North, Government has
taken up a 32% stake in Atiak Sugar Factory which has a nucleus farm and an
outgrowers scheme which will create jobs and promote agro-industrialization in
this region.
Government is prioritizing investment in Industrial parks to support
industrialization and create jobs. Notable progress has been made in Kapeeka
Industrial Park where manufacturing of tiles and other products is already on,
Kampala Industrial and Business Park where construction and provision of
various utilities is soon starting, Kabaale and Mbale Industrial Parks where
work is on-going, etc. So far, there are 284 new factories already in the
Industrial Park at Namanve; 11 in Luzira industrial and Business Park; 10 in
Bweyogerere industrial estate; 8 in Jinja industrial and Business Park; 10 in
Soroti industrial and Business Park; 16 in Kasese industrial and Business Park;
and 42 in Mbarara SME Park. The total factories in Uganda are today 4,900.
International Trade
As regards international trade, our exports revenue of goods and
services grew at 8.2 % in 2018/19, amounting to USD 7.012 billion (US$3.8billion
being earnings from trade in goods, US$1.89billion from services and
US$1.312billion from remittances). The total Import Bill for goods and services
stood at US$8.8billion, creating a trade deficit of US$1.86billion. Under the
2020 Coffee Road map which I launched a few years ago, the volume of coffee
exports reached 4.5 million bags in FY 2017/18 earning the country US$ 492
million. Light industrial goods exports fetched us US$ 382 million, while
tourism revenues amounted to US$ 1.0 billion in the same year.
If we can increase production per hectare of coffee as an example from
the current 0.67 tonnes to 2.2 tonnes per hectare like in Brazil and Vietnam,
Uganda would be earning about US$ 2 billion from unprocessed Coffee alone. At
2.2 tonnes per hectare, Uganda will produce 21 million bags of green coffee and
if this coffee was roasted here (roasting alone), Uganda would fetch
US$6.7billion. But if it was transformed into soluble - instant coffee, we
would then generate US$16.8billion for the country. This is possible.
We just need to be better organized and focused on distribution of
better seedlings, better harvesting, post-harvesting methods and storage. We
are going to process much of this coffee. By processing 60,000 tonnes of
coffee, per year, by Ms. Henrica Pinetti’s factory, Uganda will earn
US$330million.
The acceleration of the economic growth is partly due to the correct
decision we took in 2006 of prioritizing roads and electricity, the details of
which I will give later in this speech.
Although full rationalization of the results of this prioritization has
not been fully realized, especially in connection with lower transport costs
and costs of electricity, the more awareness that there are better roads and
more abundant electricity is already causing a flood of investments.
Our efforts to promote regional integration and intra-Africa trade are
yielding the desired benefits. Uganda now exports more to Africa than the Rest
of the world, with 63% of exports to Africa in FY 2017/18 compared to only 27%,
10 years ago. Exports to Asia have increased to 18% now compared to only 13%,
10 years ago.
Fiscal Performance
Domestic revenue in FY2017/18 amounted to Ushs15.5 Trillion. This is
about 15% of GDP. Next financial year 2019/20, we plan to collect Ushs
19.6.Trillion, equivalent to 16.1% of GDP. The Government is implementing a
plan to boost our domestic revenue collection to about 18% of GDP. This will
narrow the gap between what we spend and what we collect in domestic revenue
and in the process reduce the need for Government to borrow from the domestic
market and also externally. This will allow Government to finance a larger
share of its investments using our domestically generated resources.
Strategic Challenges
High cost of Capital
The high cost of capital remains a major challenge to the economy as a
whole. To address this challenge, Government is capitalizing Uganda Development
Bank. So far, we have capitalized UDB up to Ushs 272 billion, of which Ushs 53
billion has been provided this financial year. Next financial year, 2019/20,
Government is providing an additional Ushs 103 billion to bring the total to
Ushs 375 billion. On top of this, Government has guaranteed loans of USD 15
million and USD 5 million from African Development Bank (AfDB) and Exim Bank of
India, respectively for SMEs. We should borrow less domestically because this
increases interest rates and crowds out the private sector when Government
domestic borrowing is excessive.
High cost of doing business
The cost of doing business is still high in Uganda. To address this
challenge, the Government will continue to prioritize infrastructure investment
in Energy, Transport, water, and ICT. The cost of electricity per unit used to
be US cents 10.62; it is now US cents 7.91per unit. I intend to bring it down to US cents 5 per
kilowatt hour for manufacturing.
The modernization of the railway system by building the Standard Gauge
Railway will bring down the cost of transport per 40ft container from US$3,456
by road to US$1,800per container using the Standard Gauge railway. Even by repairing the old meter gauge
railway, the cost of transport goes down to US$2,016.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture remains the main thrust of Uganda’s economic growth. The
sector contributes 25% of national GDP and employs over 70% of Uganda’s
population.
In my zonal tours, I have been telling Ugandans that there are only four
sectors for wealth and jobs creation. The four sectors are: commercial
agriculture; industries (big or small); services (hotels, transport,
professional services, shops, etc.); and ICT (Business Process Outsourcing
─BPOs); etc.
Achievements
In order to regionalize the delivery of Water for Agriculture Production
services across the country, Government has opened up Regional Mechanization
Centers in South Western Region (at Buwama) and North Eastern Region (at
Agwata). Using the acquired heavy earth moving equipment, Government constructed
and rehabilitated valley tanks in the drought and cattle corridor Districts
country wide.
The number of valley tanks increased by 83 from 155 in December, 2017 to
238 in December, 2018 with a total holding capacity increasing from
8,000,000million cm3 to 9,245,000million cm³ in the same period. This has
improved the number of farmers accessing and utilizing water for irrigation,
aquaculture and livestock from 5% to 8%.
List of Irrigation Schemes Constructed/Planned by Government
District | Project| Name Irrigation
| Area (Ha.)| Status
Butaleja | Doho I | Irrigation scheme |1,000 | Completed
Kasese Mubuku I Irrigation scheme 550 Completed
Lamwo Agoro Irrigatioin Scheme 675 Completed
Lira Olweny Irrigation Scheme 600 Completed
Butaleja Doho II Irrigation Scheme 500 Physical works progress is at
48.6% cumulative progress
Kasese Mubuku II Irrigation Scheme 480 Physical works progress is at
29.92% cumulative progress
Pakwach Wadelai Irrigation Scheme 1,000 Physical works progress is at
182% cumulative progress
Oyam Tochi Irrigation Scheme 500 Physical works progress is at 57%
cumulative progress
Kween Ngenge Irrigation Scheme 880 Physical works progress is at 54.1%
cumulative progress
Kabarole Rwengaaju Irrigation Scheme 250 Physical works progress is at
50% cumulative progress
Bulambuli/ Kween Atar Irrigation Scheme 750 Feasibility studies
completed
Bulambuli/ Sironko Sironko/Acomai Irrigation Scheme 1,250 Feasibility
studies completed
Kanungu Matanda Irrigation Scheme 1,000 Feasibility studies completed
Amuru Pabbo Irrigation Scheme# 500 Feasibility studies completed
Nakapiripirit Namalu Irrigation Scheme 1,000 Feasibility studies
completed
Serere Labor Irrigation Scheme 500 Feasibility studies completed
Aleptong Ongom Irrigation Scheme 500 Feasibility studies completed
Buliisa Biiso Irrigation Scheme 500
Feasibility studies completed
List of big Earth Dams Constructed by Government
District | Project |Storage
Capacity (CM3)Cubic metres
Kumi | Kodhukul dam |85,000
Omatenga dam | 30,000
Katakwi | Ongole dam| 1,000,000
Nakapiripirit Nakiloro dam 55,000
Kotido Kailong dam 162,000
Moroto Kobebe dam 2,300,000
Napak Arechet dam 2,100,000
Kaabong Longorimit Dam 1,400,000
Abim Kawomeri dam 1,200,000
Kiruhura Kimiranjoga dam 60,000
Isingiro Kagango dam 120,000
Mbarara Mabira dam 1,020,000
Otuke Akwera dam 1,070,000
Apac Aculawic dam 72,000
Alango dam |72,000
Kole Leye dam1,200,000
Sembabule Kakinga dam 2,000,000
Mayikalo dam 125,000 Total 14,071,000
To boost agriculture mechanization, 280 tractors were procured and
distributed to farmer groups. The Government intends to procure an additional
100 tractors in FY 2019/20.
Government has enhanced the production of key strategic commodities for
Exports and Domestic Value Addition.
Oil Palm
As an import substitution commodity, oil palm production in Kalangala
has increased and steadily improving farmers’ incomes and livelihoods. In FY
2016/17, farmers harvested 24,278 MT valued at UGX 13.4 billion while in FY
2017/18 farmers harvested 37,802 MT valued at UGX 21.4 billion (36% increase in
production and 37% increase in value). On average, the 1,199 oil palm farmers
with mature gardens earned UGX 1.9 billion each month in 2018, up from UGX 1.3
billion each month in the calendar year 2017.
Cotton: lint bales increased from 151,071 in 2016/17 to 202,357 bales in
2017/18. As a result, the contribution of cotton to household incomes rose from
about UGX 136 billion in 2016/17 to UGX 188 billion in 2017/18.
Lint exports have also risen from about US$ 42 million in 2016/17 to US$
54 million in 2017/18. However, we
intend to convert all this cotton to fabric weaving, earn more dollars and
create more jobs.
Milk: Milk annual production increased from 2.08 billion litres in 2015
to 2.5 billion litres in 2018 and is projected to increase to 3.35 billion
litres by the end of 2019. The value of marketed milk has increased by 15% from
USD 716 million in 2015 to USD 850 million 2018.
The export earnings of milk and milk products now stand at US$ 79
million per annum. This increase in milk
production is in in spite of still using the old method of free-range grazing
(Kusetura). I am launching a campaign to change this. We must go from free range to zero-grazing so
that the planted pasture is not disturbed by the cattle trampling on it. With
free range, as square mile supports 213 Friesian cattle and 320 Ankole
cattle. With zero-grazing, a square mile
will support 1,280 Friesians and 6,000 Ankole cattle. Zero grazing and the
selection of only high milers is the only way to go.
Beef: To improve production of quality beef, Government has constructed
a modern holding ground (5 square miles) and an Animal Quarantine station (4
square miles) to fatten bulls. These bulls will be supplied to the modern
export abattoir in Bombo.
Fish: The fisheries subsector has through implementation of fisheries
management reforms, registered increase by 31% in Nile Perch fish stocks and
the fishery is recovering on Lake Victoria. The support to fisheries
enforcement interventions has led to the opening of 4 factories part of the 16
which had closed, bringing the total to 12 fish factories now in operation.
NAADS/ Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) initiative: Government has
continued to distribute key planting, breeding and stocking materials
including: tea seedlings in Kigezi, Ankole, Rwenzori, Mubende, West Nile and
Bunyoro Sub Zones, where over 21,915 acres have been established; citrus/
orange seedlings establishing 109,439 acres; mango seedlings establishing
143,803 acres; cocoa seedlings establishing 16,459 acres, among others.
Disease Control: Government continued to enforce quarantines to curtail
uncontrolled movement of animals which has reduced spread of diseases between
regions of Uganda. Vaccine and acaricide trials in various disease control
zones of the country have been conducted. As a response to the tick resistance
to acaricides, Government continues to carry out trials of three molecules
including Vectoclor, Bantick, Eprinometim to deal with the resistant ticks in
the country.
The acaricide zoning strategy and implementation plan to manage movement
of acaricides across zones after cleansing was rolled out in the 27 affected
Districts. The anti-tick vaccine and other measures are in progress.
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| Museveni opens Sukulu factory |
Phosphate Fertilizer Factory: The government has successfully attracted
the Sukulu factory in Tororo district. The Phosphate fertilizer production
plant is expected to produce 50,000 tons which are projected to grow to 100,000
tons as the demand continues to grow both locally and beyond our borders. This
is in line with the government campaign to cut down on the importation of
products that can be made in the country. A comprehensive update of the
national soil suitability maps is in the process to help farming communities to
understand exactly what kind of fertilizer is suitable for each farming region
in Uganda.
Land Fragmentation: The bad practice of land fragmentation is equivalent
to disabling the land. Government continues to encourage families to desist
from this retrogressive habit. The family land which was 4 acres in one
generation becomes half an acre per family because it was shared by eight
children (mainly males) on the death of their parents (especially the father).
What the four acres can do, half an acre cannot do.
Government, instead, strongly advises families to start companies where
inheritance should be by shares (emigabo).
With shares, you divide what comes from the land but the land itself or
even the property (the cattle, the pigs, the houses, etc.), should not be
fragmented. The good news is that a new science of growing crops without soil
is being developed. This is called hydroponics.
In fact soil is seen as a spoiler because it harbours alot of plant diseases. You only need water. What I have not grasped is whether all crops
can be economically grown in this way.
Priorities
Government will provide post-harvest equipment to farmer groups at
Sub-County level in order to boost the quality of the produce on-farm and also
avoid the increasing and harmful levels of aflatoxins. The Government is
already undertaking strategic programs to increase pasture production and will
partner with the private sector for production of quality and sufficient
quantities of animal and poultry feeds.
More human and financial resources will be put in enforcement of
quarantines in order to stop uncontrolled movement of animals. This will reduce
spread of diseases between the different regions of the country.
LANDS, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Social transformation entails access to decent shelter by the population
in both rural and urban settings and land as a factor of production, is a
crucial resource for transformation.
Achievements
To save people from the cumbersome and time wasting process of
travelling to Kampala for land transactions, Government has decentralised the
Lands Ministry services. There are 21
Ministry Zonal Offices in different Districts within the Country. This has
greatly benefited the public by taking services closer to them. The Ministry
Zonal Offices offer all services previously provided only at the Ministry
Headquarters.
With the computerization of land records, forgeries and graft in the
land registration system will be reduced and eliminated; problems of missing
land records have been eliminated and land transactions are more efficient and
speedy thus reducing the cost of doing business.
ENERGY AND MINERAL DEVELOPMENT
Government took a strategic decision to prioritize the development of
the energy infrastructure because it plays a crucial role as a major catalyst
for social and economic development.
Electricity Generation Capacity: Over the last one year, a total of
206.6MW was added to the power generation system. Of the new capacity, 183MW
was from Isimba Hydropower project commissioned on 21st March, 2019; and 23.6MW
was from the GETFiT (Global Energy Transfer Feed in Tarrif) projects.
The GETFiT Projects completed are: Nyamwamba (9.2MW) commissioned August
2018; Nkusi (9.6) and Waki (4.8MW) commissioned in October, 2018. In total,
Eight (8) Renewable Energy Projects with total capacity of 87.2 MW have been
commissioned while nine (9) projects with a total of 69 MW are still under
construction.
Karuma HPP (600MW): The project was 93% complete as at the end of March,
2019. This project is scheduled to be completed by end of December, 2019.
Agago – Achwa (42MW): The plant will be commissioned in September, 2019.
Muzizi Hydropower plant (48MW): This project is expected to commence in
the last quarter of 2019.
Nyagak III (6.6 MW): This project commenced in May, 2019 under a Public
Private Partnership (PPP) Framework.
When all these projects are completed, our generation capacity will
stand at 2,300mgws. This is merely endozo (appetizer). In the medium term, we are aiming at
17,000mgws.
Nuclear Power Development: Government has completed pre-feasibility
studies for a 2000MW Nuclear Power Project following the identification of
eight (8) potential sites for nuclear power plants in the Districts of Buyende,
Kiruhura, Lamwo, Mubende and Nakasongola.
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| Museveni opens Isimba |
The use of various applications of Atomic Energy in Uganda continues to rise in the medical, industrial and agricultural applications. To this effect, government has established a national register of radiation sources and facilities. Currently, 850 radiation sources in 419 facilities using nuclear technology in their operations have been registered and put under regulatory control/supervision.
The expansion of the transmission and distribution network is in
progress. The system power demand has grown by 10% from 605MW at the start of
the FY 2018/19 to the current 670MW.
With the new generation plants and transmission lines and substations
constructed to supply new areas, the system will evacuate and deliver more
power to consumers.
During the FY2018/2019, Government commissioned the following
electricity transmission line projects totalling to 630km. This brings the
total length of High Voltage grid coverage to 2,258km.
The projects completed are:
132kV Mbarara - Nkenda 160km Transmission Line and associated
substations project completed and the line was successfully switched-on, on
19th February, 2019.
220kV Kawanda-Masaka transmission line and associated substations,
137km, (Masaka, Kawanda and Mbarara) project was switched-on, on 19th December,
2018.
220kV Mbarara- Mirama hill 65km power transmission line and associated
substations project was completed and switched-on, on 7th December, 2018.
220kV Nkenda-Fort Portal- Hoima, 226km, power transmission line and
associated substations (Nkenda extension, new Hoima and Fort Portal extension)
project was completed and the project was commissioned on 14th August, 2018.
Upgrade of Queensway 132/33kV substation The station was switched-on, on
the 31st of May, 2017 and officially commissioned on 17th August, 2018.
132kV Isimba- Bujagali 42km transmission line was successfully
switched-on on 26th November, 2018. Official commissioning took place on 21st
March, 2019.
Industrial Parks substations works have been completed for Namanve,
Luzira, Mukono and Iganga.
Significant progress has also been registered on other on-going projects
in various parts of the Country as follows:
Karuma-Kawanda 400kV -264km; Karuma-Lira 132kV -75km; and Karuma-Olwiyo
400kV - 60km lines and associated substations. Construction is on-going and is
at 70% completion. The projected completion is December, 2019.
Industrial Parks and associated substations (Namanve South-Namanve 132kV
transmission line 10km; Namanve-Luzira 132kV transmission line 31km;
Nalubaale-Namanve 132kV transmission line, Mukono T-off (5km); Nalubaale-Tororo
132kV line; Tembo Steels Ltd T-off (12km).
132kV Mutundwe-Entebbe Transmission Line, 35km. Works have startedand
the project is projected to be completed by February, 2020.
132kV Opuyo-Moroto- Transmission Line, 168km and associated substations.
Works have started and the project is expected to be completed by February,
2020.
Opuyo substation upgrade (in Soroti). Works are ongoing at 40%. Planned
completion is September, 2019.
The construction of Kawanda-Kapeeka, 132kV Project is on-going.
vii) 132kV Lira-Gulu-Nebbi -Arua Transmission Line, 293km and associated
substations, works have started and will be completed within 2 years after
commencement of the project.
viii) Procurement of contractors is ongoing for the following lines:
132kV Mirama-Kabale transmission line, 80km; 400kV Masaka-Mbarara Transmission
Line, 135km; and Gulu – Agago – Agago HPP 132kV Overhead Transmission Line and
associated 132/33kV Substations Project.
Completion of the projects above will make additional 1,300km of
transmission lines, bringing the total power grid coverage to over 3,550km of
High Voltage (HV) power lines from the current 2,258km. The primary substations
will increase from the current 25 to 42. These will enable delivery of power to
the existing and newly identified load centers.
Grid based Rural Electrification: Government Rural Electrification
Programme focus has mainly been on grid extension projects and project
prioritization criteria putting into consideration other factors of social
equity and equitable regional distribution.
Government has consequently implemented over 10,000 km of Medium Voltage
(MV) power lines and approximately 9,000 km of Low Voltage (LV) distribution
power lines. This has translated into the connections of over 1.3 million
customers onto the national grid and the increment of the rural electrification
access rate from 1% in 2001 to over 13% in 2019. This means that a total of
about 7.8 million Ugandans are now linked to grid power. Additionally, another
500,000 customers are connected to power off the grid. This means that a total of about 3million
people access power off grid.
With nearly all the District Headquarters supplied with electricity, the
agenda is now to connect all the Sub-Counties by 2022. Government is promoting
use of renewable energy technologies in the Country that include solar system
for lighting rural homes and for the national grid. The Country now has 40MW of
solar grid connected systems.
Improved Minerals Trade Regulation Framework and Jobs Creation: In line
with the new mineral policy and mining legislation, Government developed a
mechanism for biometrically registering all artisanal and small-scale miners
(ASMs) in the country. In this regard, biometric registration for ASMs in
Uganda commenced in January, 2019.
Mineral Production and Non Tax Revenue: The value of Minerals produced
was worth UGX158.75 billion and revenue amounting to UGX16.70 billion was
generated as Non Tax Revenue. The
investor, M/S Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group Co. Ltd installed a phosphates
processing plant in Tororo and is already developing the Sukulu phosphate
resource into phosphates, steel, glass, cement and brick products.
Priorities
The following Hydro Power Projects will be commissioned:
i) Karuma HPP; 7 GET FiT projects: Waki (4.8 MW), Kyambura SHPP (7.6
MW), Sindila SHPP (5 MW), Ndugutu SHPP (5.9 MW), Nyamugasani I SHPP (15 MW),
Nyamugasani II SHPP (5 MW), Kikagati SHPP (16 MW); etc.
ii) Government will commence operation and maintenance for the Karuma
& Isimba Hydropower Stations, achieve 60% implementation of activities in
the Community Development (CDAP) for Karuma and Isimba HPP and Commence
construction of the Muzizi hydropower project, achieve 20% construction of
5.5MW Nyagak III.
iii) Complete (100%) construction of the following transmission lines
and substations: Karuma Interconnection lines; 400/132kV, Mutundwe-Entebbe,
Opuyo substation upgrade and Opuyo-Moroto 132Kv.
iv) Completion of Mirama – Kabale 132kV at 70%,Lira-Gulu-Nebi-Arua 132Kv
at 50%, Gulu-Agago 132kV and Kampala Metropolitan Transmission Project at 20%,
Electrification of Industrial Parks and Free Trade Zones (Kapeeka, Sukulu,
Mbale, Wobulenzi, Nakasongola, Kaweweeta & Associated Transmission Lines)
and Masaka – Mbarara 220kV at 30%.
v) Construction works totalling to 3,200km of Medium Voltage and 2,100km
of Low Voltage
vi) Commence construction works targeting connecting 287 (out of 603)
Sub-county, Division and Town Council headquarters.
WORKS AND TRANSPORT
One of the most dynamic ways to expand an economy is for the Government
to invest in the construction of roads, airports, schools, hospitals, railways,
government offices, waterworks and power dams using labour-intensive technology
to absorb some of the unemployed youth.
Financing infrastructure development is a tested method to increase
employment; accelerate growth; increase incomes; and increase savings and
investment.
Achievements
The key results under roads on both the National and District Urban and
Community Access Road (DUCAR) network are summarized below:
National Roads
Government substantially completed the upgrade of
Mukono-Kyetume-Katosi/Nyenga (74km) while, Olwiyo-Gulu Road (70.3km),
Bulima-Kabwoya Road (66 km); Akisim-Moroto (50.3km), Kanoni-Sembabule and
Sembabule-Villa Maria (110km) and Kashenyi-Mitooma (11.5km) are expected to be
completed by end of FY 2018/19.
Government completed the rehabilitation of 18km part of Nansana-Busunju
road, while the progress of Fort-Portal-Kyenjojo (50km) is at 89%.
Government commissioned the New Source of the Nile Bridge (525m) in
Jinja.
Government completed the construction of three Bridges i.e. Nalakasi and
Kaabong bridges in Kaabong District and Lopei bridge in Moroto/Kotido
Districts.
Government also awarded the civil works contracts for the under-listed
roads totalling to 308km and implementation has commenced/ is expected to
commence soon;
Kampala Flyover construction and road upgrading project.
Upgrading of the Rukungiri-Kihihi-Ishasha/Kanungu road (78.5Km) to
bituminous standards
Upgrading of Masaka-Bukakata road (41Km) from gravel to bituminous
standard
Pallisa-Kamonkoli Road (44km) Government funding using a loan from AFDB
Upgrading of Kapchorwa-Suam (73km) using a loan from ADB (African
Development Bank).
The following works have been done on the District Urban and Community
Access Roads (DUCAR):
100km of Inter connectivity roads rehabilitated in various Districts
(including Moroto, Adjumani, Bulambuli, Kasese, Ntoroko, Buhweju, Serere,Kween,
Dokolo, Aleptong, Luwero, Tororo, Mayuge, Wakisoetc)
272km opened and 132 km of District roads were fully graveled under
Force Account in the Districts of Kayunga, Mityana, Mayuge, Isingiro, Amuru,
and Mbale.
Completed civil works construction of Saaka Swamp crossing, Kaguta
Bridge in Lira and Okokor Bridge in Kumi District.
Constructed four suspended cable foot bridges including Namakhokolo
Bridge connecting Mbale and Bududa Districts, Kama Bridge linking Mbale and
Bududa Districts, Namawukulu in Bukalasi Sub-County Bududa District and Tongole
cable footbridge in Manafwa District.
Procured and distributed 1,151pieces of district road equipment to
district Local Governments, UNRA, KCCA, NEC and Ministry of Works and Transport
Force Account /Zonal Centers and 928 equipment operators and mechanics from all
the Local Governments have been trained.
Rehabilitation works on Entebbe International Airport are in progress.
Revival of the National Airline: the two Bombardier CRJ900s were
received on 23rd April, 2019. Government revived the National carrier which had
ceased operations. Commercial operations are expected to commence in July,
2019. The other two Bombardier CRJ900s are expected in July and September and
recruitment of key staff for the National airline is completed. In the
transport sector, we moved to solve the issues of air-transport.
Ugandans like travelling. Each year, they were donating US$450million to
other countries through foreign travel. Besides, there was alot of
inconvenience to travelling Ugandans by not having direct flights and even
being charged discriminatively air fares.
Since Banks were wasting our time, we paid cash. Two air-crafts, bombadiers, are ready here
and another two will come in the month of July and September, 2019. These will
be for regional travels. We shall,
straight away, go for inter-continental flights to a few high volume
destinations of travellers to and from Uganda.
We are acquiring 2 Air-buses for that purpose. Those will come in
December, 2020 and another one in January, 2021.
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR): Government continues to fast track the
development of the Standard Gauge Railway with the expectation to improve the
quality of the transport system and provide a globally competitive quality
service.
The key achievements so far, under the Standard Gauge Railway and Meter
Gauge railway are:
Standard Gauge Railway (SGR): Acquiring 93.9Acres of land for the Right
of Way and 376 Project Affected Persons (PAP) were compensated. The Uganda
Railways Cooperation (URC) re-instated freight services across Lake Victoria
(central corridor) and passenger train services on the Namanve-Kampala
passenger line. Averages of 18,000 metric tons of cargo per month and 2,000
passengers per day were moved using the freight and passenger train services
respectively.
Under the Meter Gauge operations, management and development the
following were achieved:
Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the rehabilitation of Tororo-Gulu
railway line was approved and procurement of Contractor for rehabilitation
works is in final stages (negotiation stage). Rehabilitation works are planned
to commence during the first Quarter of FY 2019/20.
Maritime Safety: 170 water vessels were inspected; of which 131 Inland
vessels were approved and licensed to provide transport services mainly on
lakes Victoria, Kyoga and Albert. Also, 12 locations for the establishment of
Search and Rescue facilities have been identified on lakes Victoria, Kyoga and
Albert.
Priorities
400km equivalent of roads will be upgraded to bitumen standard; 332.4km
equivalent rehabilitated/reconstructed and 58 bridges constructed on the
national road network. This will include completion of on-going projects,
commencement of construction of new projects and undertaking/completing
preliminary works for other projects as summarized below:
Nyenga-Njeru (10km), Mpigi-Kabulasoke-Kanoni Town Roads-24km, Kyamate
Town Roads, Kashenyi-Mitooma (11.53km), Section 2 of Nansana-Busunju (18km),
Fort Portal-Kyenjojo (50km), Rehabilitation of Hima-Katunguru Road (60km) and
Rehabilitation Ishaka-Katunguru Road (58km).
New Projects: 514 km construction projects have commenced. These are:
Luwero-Butalangwa Road (29km), Muyembe-Nakapiripirit Road (92km) and
Rwenkunyu-Apac-Acholibur (191km); Construction of Busega-Mpigi (32km)
Expressway; Design and Build of Najjanankumbi-Busabala-Munyonyo Spur
Interchange and Service Roads-11km; Design and Build of Kira-Matugga (22km) and
improvement of five (5) Junctions; Nakaseke- Singo Road (26km), Atiak-Laropi
(66km) and Moroto-Lokitanyala (45km).
The following critical Oil Roads are expected to commence in FY 2019/20:
Karugutu-Ntoroko and Kabwoya-Buhuka (98km),
Masindi-Biso; Hohwa-Nyarongwa-Kyarusheshe-Butore and Kabale-Kiziramfumbi
(97km),
Lusalira-Nkonge (97km),
Under the District Urban and Community Access Roads (DUCAR) network, the
Sector Plans to, among others, achieve the following:
Rehabilitation of 600km of DUCAR under interconnectivity programme and
rehabilitation of 400km of DUCAR under Force Account in selected Districts
including in Butaleja, Buyende, Luwero, Kamuli, Mayuge, Serere, Kyenkwanzi,
Buhweju, Dokolo, Hoima, Kapchorwa, Moroto, Kasese, Arua, Adjumani, Sironko,
Bulambuli, Rubanda, Kayunga, Mukono, Kaliro and Rakai. Construction of 30km of
LCS and 100km of Probase.
Upgrade/ rehabilitate selected urban roads in Gulu, Mityana Municipal
Council, Lyantonde Trading Center, Kabarole Municipal Council, Fort/Portal
Municipal Council, Kapchorwa Trading Center etc.
TOURISM
Tourism has increasingly become important to Uganda’s economy. It is a
driving force in propelling economic growth and continues to be the leading
foreign exchange earner for Uganda generating US$1.45 bn foreign exchange
earnings in 2017 compared to USD 1.37 bn in 2016.
Achievements
In 2018, the sector registered increased performance as reflected in the
visits to Uganda’s National Parks and other sites such as Uganda Wild Life
Education Centre (Entebbe Zoo) and the Source of the Nile. Visitors to National
Parks increased by 39,674 from 285,671 in 2017 to 325,345 in 2018.
Although the proportion of leisure visitors to total visitor arrivals is
still relatively small, it increased from 18 % in 2016 to 20.1 % in 2017 and
Tourist arrivals into Uganda have steadily increased from 850,000 in 2008 to
over 1.4 million arrivals in 2017.
The direct contribution of Tourism to GDP in 2017 was UGX 2,699.1bn
(2.9% of GDP) while the total contribution including wider effects from
investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts, was UGX 6,888.5bn in
2017 (7.3% of GDP), up from UGX 6,171.5bn in 2016.
In terms of contribution to employment in the economy, Tourism generated
229,000 jobs directly in 2017 (2.4% of total employment). This includes
employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger
transportation services (excluding commuter services).
The overall goal for the Government is to attract 4 million tourist
arrivals and increase the contribution of tourism to GDP from Shillings 7.3
trillion to Shillings 14.68 trillion at the end of the year 2020. To achieve
this goal the following has been done and will be pursued further:
Boundary management and surveillance has been enhanced.
Tourism infrastructure and products are essential in improving visitor
experience and hence have huge influence on length of visitor stay and
expenditure.
During the FY 2018/19, a total of 1,165kms of trail network and 90
bridges were maintained and 67kms of trails opened in the protected areas.
Priorities
Government will continue to focus on Human-Wildlife Conflict; Community
engagements; Resource Conservation; Research and Ecological monitoring and the
general management of Uganda’s 10 National Parks and 12 Wildlife Reserves.
Maintenance of museums, cultural heritage sites and conservation of
artefacts will be prioritized.
Government plans to promote Uganda’s tourist attractions and reach out
to more domestic and potential international tourists through;
Participation in international tourism marketing exhibitions and
regional marketing events to consolidate the gains so far realized in promoting
Destination Uganda.
Hire 7 Market Destination Representation (MDR) firms to aggressively
promote Destination Uganda in the International, African and Domestic Markets.
Design and construct the equator monument in Queen Elizabeth National
Park; complete and furnish the Visitor Information Centre at Sheraton.
CORRUPTION
The tempo of Uganda’s development is, however, interfered with by the
action of corrupt public servants and political actors. That is why corruption is now public enemy
no. 1. Hence, the Government has put in
place a number of strategies to eliminate corruption and promote the principle
of zero tolerance to corruption. These strategies are intended to create an
even more conducive environment for good governance and the rule of law to
flourish in Uganda.
Achievements
Government has provided more funding to the Inspectorate of Government
to increase their capacity to verify the Leaders’ Declaration. The verification
exercise will be increased further to crack down on Public Officers who have
illicitly acquired wealth at the expense of effective service delivery to the
citizens.
Prevention of corruption has been enhanced by increasing citizen
participation in the monitoring of Government programs and encouraging citizens
to report cases related to abuse of public funds. In this regard, the
Government implemented the Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption
(TAAC) component in NUSAF II (Northern Uganda Social Action Fund) by engaging
citizens in monitoring Government programs.
A new Unit was created headed by Lt. Colonel Edith Nakalema. There is a
24 hours Call-Centre where people can report bribery cases, embezzlement, land
evictions, crime, etc. The Unit, then,
contacts the Police and the IGG so that they handle the cases.
HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
On the side of human capital, I would like to comment on education and
health. Since the elections in 2016, a total of 256 new classrooms for
Government Primary Schools have been added.
This brings the total number of classrooms in permanent materials for
Government Primary Schools to 102,557.
The Government Primary Schools are now 12,437 in total. Out of 9,096 old
parishes in Uganda, there is, at least, one Primary School in 6,167 parishes.
The only parishes without Government Primary Schools are: 1,100. The total enrolment of pupils in Government
Primary Schools is 7,107,202millions. The enrolment of pupils in Private
Schools is 1,733,387millions. The total enrolment in Primary Schools,
therefore, in government and Private Schools is 8,840,589millions. In the
Government Primary Schools, the teacher-pupils ratio is: 1:43.
Since 2016, a total of 48 new classrooms in permanent materials have
been added to the stock of classrooms for the Government Secondary Schools. The
total number of classrooms for Government Secondary Schools is now 12,696. There are 1,194 Government Secondary Schools
with an enrolment of 679,215 students.
The Private Secondary Schools are 8,269 with an enrolment of 778,062
students.
Out of a total of 1,167old sub-counties, a total of 856 sub-counties
have, at least, one Secondary School.
The sub-counties without a Secondary School each are 311. The total enrolment of students in Government
and private Secondary Schools is now 1,457,277millions.
There are 99 Government Technical and Vocational Schools with a total
enrolment of 70,248 students. The Universities in Uganda are today 50; 11 of
them being Public Universities.
The total enrolment in Universities is 186,412 (96,305 in public
universities and 90,107 in private ones).
In Public Universities we have been rationalizing courses and also
emphasizing Science subjects, Mathematics, Accountancy and Auditing,
Quantitative Economics and Management. The school, tertiary and university
systems must create wealth and job creators, not just clerical job seekers. The total Public-Service jobs are
470,000.
These do not mean much for a population of 41 million people that,
moreover, will be 81 million people by 2040. It is the private sector, in the
form of the four sectors (commercial agriculture, industry, services and ICT) that
will create jobs and wealth. Already, the strategic bottlenecks still around
notwithstanding, industry is employing 700,000, services 1.3million people and
ICT companies employing 170,000 people.
On the issue of health, there is a total of 19 referral hospitals
including Mulago. Mulago is trying to be a super-specialized Hospital.
With some partners, we are building super-specialized hospitals in
Lubowa and another one by HH the Aga Khan.
The aim of this is to stop the haemorrhage of money to the outside. Each
year, Uganda has been losing US$ 187million to the outside (India) for medical
reasons. However, health is not in
treatment but in prevention. The ways of
prevention are well known and cost effective. They are: immunization, hygiene, nutrition, behaviour
change, life-style discipline, safe-water and vector control. If you address
all those aspects, 80%of the sicknesses will be eliminated.
By immunizing against the 13 diseases, we have eliminated polio, measles
etc. By killing the mosquitoes with
indoor spraying, killing the tsetse flies, we eliminated malaria and sleeping
sickness. By just clean water, you get
rid of cholera, intestinal worms, bilharzia and the guinea worm. Prevention has
been achieved through the HCIIIs. There
are 1002 HCIIIs in the whole of Uganda.
331 have HCIIs to be upgraded to HCIIIs and money is already found for
that purpose. 132 Sub-counties are still
lacking, at least, one HCIII.
As pointed out above, safe water is part of the preventive medicine.
There are now 65,000 boreholes in Uganda. My team will go to audit these
boreholes. Are they working and if not why?
Somebody must account. We are aiming at having, at least, one safe water
source per village ─ bore-hole, protected spring or pipe-water. A total of
11.3million Ugandans are now using piped water. Hitherto, we have been putting
more emphasis on budgeting on the roads and electricity.
This year, we spent Ug. Shs. 4,786.6 billions on the Ministry of Works
& Transport and Shs. 2,438.2 billions on the Ministry of Energy. Yet, on
the Ministry of Water we spent Shs.907.73 billion for both safe-water for
drinking and water for production. This must be understood because there is no
other way. You cannot do all things at a go. The discipline of one by one makes
a bundle is indispensable if we are to succeed. Kamwe Kamwe nugwo mugaanda.
Water for drinking, water for production, water for hygiene, water for
industry comes from one main source: rain.
Rain itself comes from water. Which water? Water of the Lakes, swamps,
forests, rivers and oceans (the distant ones – such as the Indian Ocean and the
Pacific). According to our Scientist, Mafaabi, 40% of our rain comes from our
local water bodies and wetlands and 60% comes from the Oceans.
In ignorance, some of our people have been destroying the wetlands and
forests. Hence, the erratic rains like
the ones we saw recently. This must be
stopped and it is easy to stop.
People in the wetlands and encroaching on the Lake-shores, river-banks,
etc., should peacefully leave these bodies and we help them with alternative
livelihood ─ especially fish-farming which is even more lucrative than rice
growing and growing yams.
Besides, the good news is that we can even do agriculture without soil
(hydroponics). Apart from interfering
with the rain, cutting the tree cover also causes violent, windy down pours
(eihuunga and even eshato) as well as landslides. It also causes soil erosion
and the silting of water bodies such as Lakes.
Uganda should not be a country of the uninformed. It should be a country
of the enlightened. The other day, at Namugongo, I challenged religious leaders
to extend what Christianity has been saying since 1877 when they set foot in
Uganda. In Runyankore, they say: “Ediini ekareeta Omushana; ediini ekabiinga
omwirima”. Christianity brought light (omushana) to Africa and chased darkness
(omwirima). Indeed, religion brought
light in some aspects. My mother, an
uneducated woman, rejected alcohol and the indiscipline that goes with it,
learnt how to boil milk instead of drinking it raw which was the tradition,
learnt how to knit sweaters, learnt how not to share cups and plates
(okunywererana, okuririraana), appreciated education, etc.
All this was on account of religion.
The Christians, the Moslems and the others have all contributed in some
of these areas. However, there is still darkness in some crucial areas such as:
land-fragmentation on inheritance; continuing with subsistence farming instead
of doing commercial farming; when some do commercial farming, they do it
without ekibaro (cura, aimar, otita); and attacking the environment contrary to
what God had arranged. Let the religious people preach for the preservation of
the environment. It is, indeed, a
biblical commandment. In the Book of
Genesis, God commands man to look after the environment and not to destroy
it. When you come to Kisozi, you find
the huge preserved rufuunzho (papyrus swamp) with its brown (rusty brown)
ferric oxide (ebirooro) water.
If the Christians and the Moslems do not look after the environment
well, they will be in darkness (omwirima) worse than that of the traditional
worshippers that are wrongly and arrogantly called Abakafiiri. These Bakafiiri
were aware of God (Ruhanga, Rubanga, Katonda, Kankya, Kibumba) but they were
also “worshipping” the Mountains (Kangave, Kampindi; Lubwama, Buyego, Magara,
Walusi, etc.), the rock-out crops, the rivers etc., not instead of God but in
addition to God.
When I was leading the war in the Luwero Triangle where almost all the
people believe in the traditional religion as a supplement to the modern
religion, I was able to infuse the sciences into many of their activities –
medicine – knowing that etalo (cellulitis) is not edogo (witchcraft) but a
bacterial infection and that there was no herb that could stop bullets. The only dagala (medicine) for bullets is
taking cover and also trying to neutralize the one firing at you. With patient political work, we can persuade
our traditional believers from “worshipping” to respecting. Of course, the traditional people do not only
worship the hills (obusozi/ensozi); they worship the ancestral spirits. That worship casual respect for nature. It is, therefore, wrong for the Christians
and Moslems, led by more informed people, to have no respect for nature, God’s
creation, than our superstitious traditional believers Kangave hill was clothed
with thick forest when we were fighting that area.
When I went there, recently, it is completely bare and the numerous rock
boulders (omabaale – amayinja), which I did not know existed beneath the trees,
are all now exposed. The encroachers
have even gone into the Busemba, swamp, Daaze etc. While I appeal to the leaders (political,
religious, cultural etc.), I direct the Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs)
and the Sub-county chiefs to persuade these encroachers to leave the swamps and
the forests after they have harvested the current seasonal crop and never to
come back. They do not have to use force
if the encroachers do not plan to leave voluntarily, the CAOs should write to
the Permanent Secretaries of the Presidency, Prime Minister and Head of the
Civil Service for all of us to be involved.
Any CAO or Sub-county chief who does not act, will be dismissed and may
be charged with relevant criminal offence after the guidance of the Attorney
General and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Regarding the long established swamp rice growers of, mainly, Eastern
Uganda, I will visit the area, again, after my up-country tour. We shall discuss how to, for, instance,
transition from the destructive rice growing to the more lucrative and
environment friendly fish farming at the edge of the swamps (enayegyego) and not
in the center of the swamp.
I cannot end this address without talking about the historic task of
ending the market and political fragmentation of Africa, initially by the
myopic indigenous chiefs and later on, by the colonialists. Principle No. 2 of the NRM is
Pan-Africanism. This is not just a
slogan or a cliche. It is a matter of
survival for the African nations. China
has a population and, therefore, an internal market of 1.3bn people. Yet, as you can see in the news, they are
struggling for access to other markets.
Why? It is because the more the
consumers buy from you, the more prosperous you become.
The factories produce more, they employ more people, they pay more
taxes, more taxes help the Government to build infrastructure, pay better
salaries and provide better social services (education, health, welfare
etc.). That is why, right from 1963,
some of us have been in the Pan-African Movement – the integration of the whole
of Africa into an African Common Market and those portions of Africa that are
similar or compatible into political Unions (confederations, leading to
political federations). I am happy to
inform Ugandans, the sig-zag course notwithstanding, Africa and East Africa
are, now, on the right trajectory.
Recently, we signed the CFTA (the Continental Free Trade Area). This, of course, is not new. We had signed the Abuja Treaty in 1991 on the
same mission. Nevertheless, our Baganda
people say: Adingana anamolu agajjamu omukuto – the one who respectively eats
the cold food, will get satisfied eventually.
I do not know why the Baganda underrated obuhoro (the cold food). I like buhoro so much.
The Runyankore equivalent is: “Owaafa nagyenda amaguru tigamugaya” – if
you keep travelling, looking for something, in the end, the legs will reward
you”
Therefore, the search for the integration of Africa is a must. It is good that we are, again, re-igniting
the fire (okwenegyeza – okussesamu) of integration.
In the case of the EAC, all the countries have now agreed on the concept
of confederation as a first step towards the Federation. A Constitutional Drafting Committee,
comprised of delegates from all the member states, is now working. It is comprised of the following
distinguished East Africans:
Hon. Dr. Justice Benjamin
Odoki - Uganda
Prof. Murindwa Rutanga -
Uganda
Hon. Amos Wako - Kenya
Mr. Peter Kiguta - Kenya
Mr. Theophile Mbonera -
Rwanda
Mr. John Nshunguyinka -
Rwanda
Prof. Alexander Makulilo -
Tanzania
Mr. Idd Ramandhan Mandi -
Tanzania
Dr. Serge Ngendakumana -
Burundi
Mr. Salvator Ntibazonkiza
- Burundi
Ms. Mary James Ajith -
Sudan
Mr. Albino Nyler Polic -
Sudan
They were given 7 months to produce a draft.
I was given the pleasant task of championing the cause of the East
African Federation, under our current chairman, H.E. Paul Kagame, President of
Rwanda. That is exactly what I am doing
now.
The political – economic integration of Africa is about three things:
prosperity through trade in the Common Market; strategic security through
political integration where possible; and exploiting the fraternity
(linguistically, culturally) and the linkages among the four nations of Africa:
the Niger-Congo, the Nilo-Saharan, the Agro – Asiatic and the Khoisan.
The speech I gave to the Constitutional Drafting Committee on 23rd
April, 2019 at Entebbe, plus other relevant documents should be given to all
Members of Parliament and sold in Book Stores so that the detailed reasoning is
known to all East Africans.
BILLS FROM PARLIAMENT
I wish to end this address by thanking Parliament for enacting the
following legislations during the last session:
ENACTMENT OF LAWS
26 Bills were passed
A: BILLS PASSED
DATE | BILLS PASSED
09/05/2019
The Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2016
16/05/2019
The Roads Bill, 2018
30/04/2019
The Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2019
30/04/2019
The Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2019
30/04/2019
The Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019
07/05/2019
The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019
08/05/2019
The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019
04/04/2019
The Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2018.
15/01/2019
The Human Rights (Enforcement) Bill, 2015
31/01/2019
The Security Interest in Movable Property Bill, 2018
05/02/2019
The Indigenous and Complementary Medicine Bill, 2015
19/02/2019
The Uganda Wildlife Bill, 2017
19/02/2019
The Minimum Wages Bill, 2015
06/12/2018
The Data Protection and Privacy Bill, 2015
06/12/2018
The African Export-Import Bank Agreement [Implementation] Bill, 2018
12/12/2018
The Civil Aviation Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2017
14/11/2018
The National Environment Bill, 2017
21/11/2018
The Sugar Bill, 2016 (Returned)
22/11/2018
The Investment Code Bill, 2017
27/11/2018
The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
28/11/2018
The Genetic Engineering Regulatory Bill, 2018
13/09/2018
The Mental Health Bill, 2014
02/10/2018
The Excise Duty (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2018.
04/10/2018
The Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2017
04/10/2018
The Supplementary Appropriation Bill (No. 2), 2017
B: PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE
PROGRAMME FOR FINANCIAL YEAR
2019/2020
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Uganda Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs (UIDIA),
Bill.
The Foreign Service Bill
Ministry of Public Service
The Public Service Pension Fund (Amendment) Bill 2018
The National Records and Archives (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Finance, Planning &
Economic Development
The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Value Added Tax (VAT) (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Excise Tariff (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Stamps Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Finance Bill, 2020
The Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2020
The Appropriation Bill, 2020
The National Payment Systems Bill.
The Bank of Uganda (BOU) (Amendment Bill), 2016
The Public Procurements and Disposable Assets (PPDA) Bill, 2003 and
Regulations, 2004 (Amendment) Bills
The Institute of Procurement Professionals of Uganda (IPPU) Bill
The Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Bill.
The Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The Retirement Benefits Sector Liberalization Bill, 2011
The Financial Leasing (Amendment) Bill
The Motor Third Party Insurance (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development
The Land Acquisition Bill, 2019
The Land Valuation Bill, 2019
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives
The National Accreditation Bill
The Legal Metrology Bill
The Industrial and Science Metrology Bill
The Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill
The Competition Bill
Ministry of Works and Transport
The Engineers Registration (Amendment) Bill
The Inland Water Transport Bill, 2018
The Uganda Railway Corporation (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Education and Sports
The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) (Amendment) Bill.
The Physical Activity and Sports (PAS) Bill.
The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) Amendment Bill.
The Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium (Amendment) Bill.
The Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions (UOTI) (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Health
The National Food and Drug Authority Bill
The Public Health (Amendment) Bill
The Organ and Tissue Transplant Bill
The Pharmacy Bill
Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs
The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces and Veterans Bill, 2017
Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development
The Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) (Amendment) Bill, 2018
The National Social Security Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019
The Older Persons Bill, 2019
The Social Impact Assessment and Accountability Bill
The Kiswahili Bill
The Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Bill
The National Youth Council (Amendment) Bill
The Uganda Culture Bill
The Employment (Amendment) Bill
The Uganda Film Strengthening Bill
The Workers’ Compensation
(Amendment) Bill
Labour Unions (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Ethics and Integrity
The Leadership Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Bill
The Explosives Bill
The Transitional Justice Bill
The Community Service Act, 2000, (Amendment) Bill
The Forensic Evidence and Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Database Bill
The Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Local Government
The Local Government Financial and Accounting Regulations, (Amendment)
Bill
The Local Government (Amendment) Bill.
The Markets Bill, 2013.
The Local Governments Financing Bill
Ministry of Water and Environment
The National Forestry and Tree Planting (Amendment) Bill
The National Climate Change Bill
The National Wetland Resources Bill
The Water (Amendment) Bill
The National Environment (Amendment) Bill
Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and
Fisheries
The Animal Feeds Bill
The Veterinary Practitioners Bill
The Agriculture Extension Services Bill
Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities
The Tourism (Amendment) Bill
The Museums and Monuments Bill
Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs
The Law Revision Bill, 2019
The Succession Bills
The Electoral Reform Bills
The Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Bill, 2018
The Witness Protection Bill, 2019
The Sexual Offences Bill
Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to declare the 4th Session of the 10th
Parliament open.
I thank you very much and hope that the coming Session will be fruitful.
Date:
Thursday, June 6, 2019
