By VOM News Team.
President Yoweri Museveni has today reiterated his position on foreign aid and loans directed towards Uganda from the World Bank Group.
Mr. Museveni said many of the loans and aid packages to Africa and Uganda in particular; are of no value addition and sometimes are even, anti-growth.
In a 27 paged document shared on social media today, Mr. Museveni said the World Bank has contributed to some elements of Infrastructure including roads, schools and health centers however the loans come with stringent conditions on how they should be put utilized.
Mr. Museveni further described the World Bank dealings with Uganda as frivolous, erratic and laced with Paternalism (action that limits a person’s or group’s liberty or autonomy)
According to the Ugandan President, some of the western actors have abandoned projects and the Government has used its own money to complete them.
“One time, one group said they were going to reconstruct Masaka- Mbarara road but not the Kampala- Masaka portion, we used 440 billion to do that portion ourselves”, Museveni said.
According to Mr. Museveni, most of the money is spent on Seminars and Workshops.
“Some of these imperialist actors, are insufferable. You work hard to restrain yourself from exploding with anger. They are so Shallow, they do not know when and where to stop”, Mr. Museveni pointed out further stressing the point that, “this shallowness in philosophy, ideology and strategy interferes with the global efforts to generate consensus for the good of mankind”.
He cited a vivid example of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries which has borrowed 800 Million US dollars in the last ten years.
In that time, the Ministry has not been able to develop Zonal diagnostic laboratories and research centers, no value addition equipment for farmers such as combine harvesters, tractors or even irrigation equipment has even been purchased.
Mr. Museveni said some ‘actors’ in the Ugandan Government play the role of neo- colonial Mis planners who have no problem with the country producing raw materials.
“The World Bank and other external actors, have no capacity to interrupt our transformation journey. It is actually the internal weaknesses, that delay our forward march and that must and will be crushed”, Museveni explained.
According to Mr. Museveni, full monetization of the economy and aggressive value addition of Uganda’s products has seen a significant leap of the economy from 1.5 billion US dollars to 55 billion US dollars, by the end of the financial year.
The International Monetary Fund report of 2023 places Africa’s economy at 2.9 trillion behind India (3.7 trillion), Germany (4.3 trillion), Japan (4.4 trillion) China (19.4 trillion) and the United States of America with 26.9 trillion shillings.
Data provided for within the President’s speech indicates that 68% of Uganda’s population in 2013 was not in the cash economy. It still remains to be seen, if the number of Ugandans actively involved in the cash economy has increased.
Mr. Museveni commended Former Minister of State of the United Kingdom for Europe and North America Baroness Lynda Chalker for her role in the establishment of Nalubaale Power Station, formerly known as Owen Falls Dam.
He also recognized the Chinese who have also ‘helped’ with Isimba and Karuma Hydropower dams and are now embarking on supporting Uganda with the Standard Gauge Railway.
Mr. Museveni concludes his speech by saying western powers should remember that Uganda plays a fundamental role in the fight against terrorism in Somalia, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and on the Sudan border in the recent past.
He cautioned some western actors against creating unnecessary contradictions among partners by creating room for intolerance of different views.
“How then, are you different from the religious fundamentalists who are intolerant of other faiths? If you have a certain viewpoint about homosexuality, we have a different one”, Mr. Museveni explained.
He said their attempt to coerce Uganda into accepting homosexuality puts them right up there along with the arrogant and chauvinists of the world.
FULL SPEECH:
https://www.yowerikmuseveni.com/sites/default/files/blog-files/ON%20FOREIGN%20AID%20AND%20LOANS%20%20AUGUST%202023.%20%20doc.pdf
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