President Yoweri Museveni has said that Indians who have lived for a long period of time in Uganda qualify to be registered as citizens of Uganda.
“Those who have lived for long surely qualified to be Ugandans. Asian people who live in Uganda are part of Uganda. Even the African tribes which are here; they all came from somewhere because some are from West Africa, some came from the Horn of Africa.." he said.
The President also said that Indians living in Uganda are already integrated, adding however that this should be based on wealth creation and development.
The President was yesterday addressing the Indian Community living in Uganda during the Diwali celebrations at State House in Entebbe. The Festival of lights as it is popularly known, is one of the most important days in the Indian culture. There are currently over 20,000 people of Indian origin living in Uganda.
The President was responding to Mr. Katongole Singh, the head of mobilization Indian community in Uganda who said that the Government of Uganda should recognize the Indians citizens in Uganda as a tribe in order for them to be represented in Parliament.
Katongole who said the Indian community fully supports the Presidents efforts to ensure peace, unity and security for the Business community in Uganda, also urged government to register Indians who have lived in Uganda for the last 40 years as citizens of Uganda.
The Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (Amendment) Act No. 53, 2009, allows foreign nationals who wish to retain their citizenship in a foreign county, the option to acquire Ugandan citizenship. In Uganda, Dual Citizenship means the simultaneous possession of two citizenships of which one is Uganda.
The President congratulated the Indians upon celebrating Diwali and thanked them for their business investment in Uganda. He also appreciated the Indians for their contributions in the economic development of Uganda.
On the issue of Tax, the President noted that growth of the economy through investment in agriculture, ICT, services among others is crucial in the economic development. He said that Tax collection should come out of the growth of the economy adding that production should not be taxed because the government aim is to increase growth of economy.
The Indian High Commissioner to Uganda Dr. Ramesh Chandra commended President Yoweri Museveni for supporting the Indian communities living in Uganda and for the prevailing peace and security which has made the Indian community to grow economically. He noted that the bilateral relations between Uganda and India are growing stronger and called upon the Indian community in Uganda to integrate with the locals among whom they work for mutual relationship.
The chairman Indian association in Uganda Mr. Chirag Dare commended President Museveni for providing a conducive environment that has attracted many entrepreneurs to invest in the economic development of Uganda. He said that Indians will continue to invest more in the development of Uganda.
The Diwali celebrations was attended by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanya, Third Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Moses Ali, Ministers and other government officials.
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