In his speech on the 37th liberation anniversary in Kakumiro district, the president confirmed that as the country has now gained low-middle-income status, the target is to strive to excel.
“Our economy has grown from a miserable $1.5 billion in 1986 to $48 billion by the end of June 2023. We have already entered the middle income status they are talking about but you need three years consecutively to be recognized as a middle-income country and in my view, all these are low targets that Uganda will easily surpass,” President Museveni said.
According to the official data, Uganda’s economy is situated at $ 45.7 billion by the exchange rate method or $ 131 billion by the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) system.
The heads of state in Uganda can excel and therefore go beyond the current low middle income status if all goes well.
“In my view, all those are low targets, which Uganda will easily surpass. Why? You remember my admonitions about losing value through the export of raw materials. This low middle-income economy we are now talking about, is still, actually, mainly a raw materials-producing economy, where for a kilogram of $5 coffee, we get $2 for bean coffee while the wiser foreigners who roast the coffee, grind it and pack it for sale in supermarkets, get 50 for the same kilogram.”
He added that with value addition to the country’s produce, the economy can increase from a low-income middle economy and improve its position.
“We are going to add value to more and more of our coffee and the other raw materials – cotton, maize, forest products, minerals, etc. This broad spectrum value addition movement will jumpstart our economy in a fairly short time to a half trillion economy ($ 500 billion).”
“We now have the electricity and we are adding more, we have the varied and massive raw materials and, increasingly, we have the entrepreneurs – local and foreign and we have the African market that we have put in place with our Pan-Africanist Comrades.”
While addressing a crowd in the traditional NRM stronghold district of Kakumiro in mid-western Uganda, Mr Museveni encouraged Ugandans to focus on wealth creation.
“Every adult must engage in the four sectors of wealth creation that include commercial agriculture, industrialization, service provision and ICT,” he concluded.
