On Timothy Kalyegira and US Mission to Uganda's "A Report to the Ugandan People"

Timothly Kalyegira’s column in the Sunday Monitor of 18^th June 2017 (http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/-US-embassyUgandans-Chinese-/689844-3974784-kecnc5/index.html)drew my attention to the recently released “Report to the Ugandan People” by the US Embassy in Kampala. Whereas Timothy didn’t not have many charitable things to say about Ugandans (the intended receipts of the report), I agree with him that the report was well structured, clutter less, incisive and colorful. It makes for easy reading and understanding on what the U.S government supported programs are up to in Uganda. 

A few highlights from the report (https://ug.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/report-to-the-ugandan-people/)that covers their last fiscal year (from October 2015 to September 2016), the US government and associated agencies spent $850 million on five key focus areas namely Health, Stability, Prosperity, Justice and Democracy, and Education. Health, at slightly over $500m took the lion’s share, accounting for approximately 60% of the total spend. Stability (which covers defense spending, peace initiatives, refugee programs etc.) came second with $280m accounting for 33% of total spend. The other three focus areas shared the remaining 7% of the total spend in the fiscal year. Other key nuggets in the report are that average age in Uganda is now 14 years, implying that if you sum up all the ages of the 35 million Ugandans and divide this sum by the total population, you get 14 years! This reinforces our position as the country with the youngest population in the world. 80% of our population is below 18 years, and total population is projected to rise to 50 million and 100 million in 2020 and 2050 respectively.

I am not tempted, like my friend Timothy to suggest that our average Ugandan is naïve and clueless, consigned to a life of in-ability to be competitive in the Ugandan economy and the global scene at large. The Ugandan population, and by extension the Uganda government have the right ingredients at hand and or in the pipeline, to harness our potential for full scale production and economic activity to raise millions out of poverty and provide quality social services like health and education. There are two avenues that I believe the US Mission in Uganda and its partner’s may need to engage in and or support in the short and medium term as they work in partnership with the Uganda government to ensure a better and brighter future for all Ugandans.

As noted in the “Report to the Ugandan People”, over 70% of the Ugandan population rely on agriculture for income and food. It is also well known that the majority of these are small holder farmers on small acreage of land, with minimal or no mechanized equipment or technology to boost agriculture production. Whereas the wheat farmer in Kansas, America has access to a futures market, agricultural subsidies, machinery, fertilizer, etc. to boost productivity and quality in their farming enterprise, the average Ugandan farmer is up against the vagaries of climate change, poor farm inputs, high labor and technology costs etc. in their attempt to graduate from subsistence farming to commercial farming. I believe that the US Mission in Uganda can share best practices of the Futures Markets/ Commodity Exchange Markets so that local farmers have supply contracts and are guaranteed good prices for their produce in the short and medium term. This should be a good incentive for local banks and insurance firms to offer credit and insurance products to farmers to boost production. The warehousing initiative, as highlighted in the report is a good place to start. Could it be possible for the US government program to underwrite some private firms to invest in large warehousing facilities at district level, as a first step to decentralized commodities trading and futures market? I believe this would go a long way in building the foundation for all-inclusive economic growth.

 The second proposition is on Energy. The Report highlights some of the energy efficiency initiatives currently undertaken by Power Africa including hybrid solar-diesel power project in Kalangala. There is a multitude of opportunities and projects in the energy sector that would undoubtedly enhance access to electricity and value addition across the country. Renewable energy projects like solar and wind at district level targeting health and education facilities would go a long way in improving service delivery at these social facilities. Small/ mini hydro projects and mini-grids targeting production zones, upcountry industrial zones, commodity processing plants, emerging urban centers etc. have potential for strong multiplier effects across the economy. Power Africa may have to cast its net wider in partnering with private developers and government agencies in harnessing the opportunities for energy supply, distribution and access in Uganda. It is evident that support to both the energy and agricultural sectors , coupled with Government of Uganda’s massive investment in public infrastructure, will yield dividends for the wider population, boost incomes and competitiveness on the regional markets. May be then, US Mission’s “Report to the Ugandan People” will highlight success stories that will be pleasant reading for my friend Timothy Kalyegira.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Editorial/Investment-in--agriculture--energy-will-boost-incomes/689360-3983066-13yy774z/index.html

Twitter - @RugabaAgaba