During the swearing-in ceremony for his 7th term at Kololo Independence Grounds, President Museveni said this term “Kisanja No more Sleep’, would mainly focus on the ambitious Ten-Fold Growth Strategy. The agenda aims to transform Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product from $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040.
The growth strategy is anchored on massive industrialisation, oil production, commercial agriculture, infrastructure development, science, research, technology and human capital development.
Through community-based poverty alleviation initiatives such as Entandikwa, Naads, Operation Wealth Creation, Emyooga, and Parish Development Model (PDM), government has underscored its commitment to community economic transformation as a step towards the $500b strategy. But is it viable and feasible?
The UBOS 2024 Multidimensional Poverty Report indicated that the Karamoja Sub-region tops Uganda’s poverty at 56.9 percent. This means people in that community cannot access basic health services, basic education and a decent lifestyle. It should also be noted that Karamoja Sub-region has been battling hunger. This questions the success of government poverty alleviation schemes in such areas.
The unemployment problem continues to bite, especially among the youth, forcing many to flee to the Middle East. The rate at which Small and Medium Enterprises collapse is worrying. Urban poverty is also affecting the majority of the population.
The general population has little or no knowledge of the $500b growth strategy, yet community involvement in its implementation is paramount. Hence the Ten-fold Growth Strategy risks chasing big dreams in the air.
Poverty alleviation schemes disburse money to people without equipping them with business or enterprise management skills for sustainability.
A World Bank Poverty by Country Report 2024 indicated that 59.8 percent of Ugandans live in extreme poverty, meaning those living on under $3 per day, accounting for each country’s living costs. This poses questions to government-aided poverty alleviation schemes.
High cost of business and enterprise operations – transport, production, electricity, water, labour, rent and high taxes – all suffocate SMEs, leading to their collapse.
Government must therefore involve the community and sensitise them on their role in achieving the Ten-Fold Growth Strategy. This will enable business people to align their investments.
Government should mentor communities on business and enterprise management skills: accounting, record keeping, cash flow, marketing, sales and branding for sustainability, before handing over money. Enterprises that support the majority of Ugandans must be cemented.
There should be proper data based follow-up on the progress and the stumbling blocks of poverty alleviation mechanisms for informed decision-making. This is better than leaders always claiming that Uganda has attained middle-income status, yet on ground, the case is different.
Agriculture, Uganda’s backbone must be prioritised focusing on value addition and agro-industrialisation, improved road networks needed to enable transportation of products to the market. East African Integration presents a bigger market for Ugandan goods which, if properly utilised can facilitate community livelihood transformation and economic growth.
For the Ten-Fold Growth Strategy to be realised, it must focus on community livelihood transformation for all citizens.