President Yoweri Museveni has opened the fifth meeting of the National Executive Council of the National Resistance Movement, emphasizing a wide range of issues for the party’s mission including value addition; scientific innovation; mass acquisition of skills beyond literacy and numeracy; industrialization; infrastructure development especially in connection with electricity, the railway and the roads; modernizing and securing agricultural production with irrigation; science and vocational education; consolidating security and banishing sectarianism – whether religious, ethnic or other forms of chauvinism of any type; fighting corruption; and regional economic and political integration.
The three day meeting held under the theme, “Consolidating the Achievements of the NRM Revolution, has attracted hundreds of party faithful at Statehouse in Entebbe and is said to be the last meeting before the kick off into grassroots elections for the forthcoming party bearers for the elections in 2011.
The President who was in a jovial mood said exports of goods from Uganda, in the year 2009, were US$ 3413 million (3.4 billion) and services were US$ 693.65 million. The remittances from Ugandans working abroad were US$ 711.44 million. Therefore, the total foreign exchange inflows into Uganda were US$ 4.818 billion (excluding FDI and foreign aid). The GDP per capita income in the last calendar year was US$ 538.
“All this happened in spite of the electricity shortages since 2005, which you all know. Once we solve the electricity shortages, then we deal with the bad roads and with the railway system, the economy will gallop. Value addition will cause the economy to grow by, at least, a factor of 10, propelling Uganda into middle income economies. This performance is without factoring in the element of the recently discovered oil and gas. I do not have the same intoxication with oil as some of the less discerning people seem to be. Petroleum is not more important than agriculture, industry, services and a developed human resource,” the President emphasized
Giving an elaborate background of the economies of such countries as Japan, which has neither oil, minerals nor even agriculture, has got a far bigger GDP of US$ 4.9 trillion with GDP per capita income of US$ 34,100 than Saudi Arabia, which has got a GDP of US$ 469.4 billion and an income per capita of US$ 20,500, the president added that Uganda’s newly discovered Petroleum will give the country readier cash with which we shall be able to tackle the more durable potential of Uganda’s industry, agriculture, services and human resource development.
“Oil money will be used to expand infrastructure, especially electricity generation, some aspects of road infrastructure and the railway; some aspects of higher science education as well as a vast network of vocational training; irrigation and scientific research. Our oil money will be ring-fenced for these six purposes. Oil money should never be used to pay wages – should never be used for recurrent expenditure or to support consumption. It should be used to create a higher capacity,” he said.
President Museveni described Ugandas’ ability to withstand the Global crisis among the developed economies as remarkable and attests to the good management of our economy as well as its unstoppable growth.
The President said an Energy Fund to deal with electricity has been set up and that the Bujagali dam is being constructed. He added that work on Karuma is due to start including other sites that are lined up for construction like Ayago, Isimba.
The president directed the Ministry of Works and Transport to evolve a correct formula of working on the murram roads.
“The system of using contractors to work on murram roads has discredited itself. The contractors over-price their work. Therefore, I have directed the Ministry of Works and Transport, I have also directed Kampala City Council, etc, to go back to direct labour as far as the murram roads are concerned and as far as Kampala City Council roads are concerned,” he said.
The president emphasized that all districts will receive Road equipment to develop their road networks, adding that the big districts, with big road networks, will receive more than one Road Unit equipment. The big districts with dense populations will also receive a proportionately larger share of scholarships, money, etc.
The President said he had directed the Ministry of Works and Transport to put road gangs back into place.
“I have repeatedly told the Ministry of Works and Transport of my irritation and vexation with the dust in Kampala. I had earlier on told Mr. Sebaana Kizito of the same when he was still Mayor of Kampala. The Ministry of Works and Transport is directed to ensure that Entebbe-Kibuye, Nakawa-Kireka roads; Kampala road-Wandegeya-Bwaise-Kawempe road; Nakulabye-Nansana road; and Kibuye-Ndeeba-Nateete-Busega road are in excellent condition. I do not want to see dust or mud on these roads. Kampala City Council has been given brand new equipment to work on the other roads. If they do not use it properly, I will withdraw that equipment and put it under the Ministry of Works and Transport,” he said.
On corruption, the President said a Drugs Inspection Unit has been set up in his Office and has already discovered massive thefts of drugs by health workers.
“Many people have been arrested in this connection. We, however, need to legislate to stop the granting of bail to people accused of theft of Government drugs, embezzlement, treason, murder, rape, sodomy and defilement,” he said.
The President used the example of what he described as the amazing phenomenon of the LCV Chairman of Mayuge being sentenced to death when he was ‘out on bail’!!
“He used that chance to escape. This must be stopped, if not by the Courts, then by the NRM through our Caucus and Parliament by way of legislation,” he said.
On Science and technology, the President said the many years of investing in science education have rewarded the country with many innovative scientists. He said government had set asides 48.23 billion shillings to support these science groups.
“The Government is going to fund, for instance, the production of an electric car made by Makerere University students of the Technology Faculty. The money mentioned above will be given to the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, the Faculty of Technology, the Faculty of ICT, Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) as well as scientists in any of the Ugandan Universities with any innovation,” he said.
The President called for support from NEC members to retain the scientists the country produces. He said he has directed the Minister of Public Service to ensure that, starting with the coming Financial Year, a process is started to give scientists wages that are near international levels of remuneration. He also said government is also already making efforts to enhance the BTVET (Business, Technical Vocational Education and Training) scheme.
“Through special funding, we are going to fully equip the present 88 or so Technical colleges, Technical institutes, Technical schools and Vocational schools. I would like to inform NEC delegates that these schools are presently part of the free education scheme. You should encourage students to fully utilize them,” he said.
He said Ugandans are beginning to respond through NAADS and other schemes, and called on the Ministry of Agriculture to address the issue of processing and storage at the sub-county levels so as to get more but also use the residue after milling for animal feeds for cattle, chicken, pigs, etc.
The president said that with the increase in production on the local market, regional markets and regional integration which are some of the cornerstones of the NRM policies can be achieved.
“We are working very well within the EAC as well as within COMESA. This is where the future of Africa belongs – integration. Economic integration, however, is not enough. We must boldly speak of Political Integration so that we can guarantee the future of the Black race. Black Africans and other Africans were enslaved in the past because of the inefficient political units in form of micro-kingdoms that characterized Africa at that time. The persistence of this mistake, even in the modern era, is a threat to the future of the Black people. It is the duty of this generation to rectify this mistake once and for all,” he said.
On Secuirty, the president said security is now secured with the defeat of criminal Kony and killing of many of his co-criminals such as Abudema, Ochan Bunia, Kalalang, etc.
“Altogether, we have killed 324 terrorists, we have liberated 534 abductees, 74 terrorists have surrendered on their own accord, we have captured 44 terrorists and 279 pieces of weapons, etc. Kony or, indeed, any other terrorist will never come back to disturb us. Karamoja is pacified. Any gaps in Army operations there have now been identified and are being rectified,” he said.
The President said government will not tolerate anybody propagating and practicing sectarianism – religious, ethnic or gender chauvinism.
“We defeated this opportunism in the Luwero Triangle; that is why Uganda has had these 24 years of stability. We are not going to tolerate opportunism in the wider society of Uganda. It is incumbent on everybody to promote patriotism. It is easy to identify the legitimate interests of the various stakeholders in Uganda. However, opportunism, the greatest customer of sectarianism, must be rejected and banished. Uganda is heading towards peace and prosperity. This has been, mainly, the effort of NRM. All concerned, please, give Uganda a chance,” he said.
The President also clarified on the issue of gays saying the bill was brought as a private members bill to Parliament and it was not by government or the National Resistance Movement Party.
“When I was at the Commonwealth Meeting, The Prime Minister of Canada, came to see me about gays, Prime Minister Gordon Brown came to see me about gays, Carson rang me about Somalia and gays and Mrs Clinton rang to talk to me about gays. I want to clarify on this issue. The motion on gays was brought by a private member Hon. Bahati, I have not even talked to him. I told these people that since they are democrats why can’t they wait for this to be debated? Why has this caused excitement. We sat in cabinet and said that we should invite Hon. Bahati to tell us what he is talking about and then we can see how we can handle this together. It is better for more minds to discuss and see how to navigate around it,” he said.
The President emphasized that issues to do with foreign policy must not be handled individually but hastened to add that our country has its own values, cultures historically and socially.
He urged the members to agree to the idea that cabinet meets Hon. Bahati to see how best to handle the issue because it involves foreign policy and not just internal politics.
“We must handle it in a way in which it does not compromise our principles but also takes in mind foreign policy,” he said.
The President said in his conversation with US secretary of State Clinton, he said he had heard that homosexuals come from Europe and recruit young people using money, something she described as exploitation.
The President said some people who are looking to weaken government by discouraging the holding of the ICC meeting due in Kampala are using the issue as a human rights abuse but added that the country cannot sell its morals for a meeting.
“Let us measure our actions and discuss them and come to an agreed position,” he said
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