President Yoweri has said he disagrees with government’s development plan to transform Uganda into modern and prosperous country by the year 2040, also known Vision 2040.
Museveni said Saturday, that Vision 2040 was crafted by government technocrats, whom he also described as parasites during a meeting of Ugandan CEOs and private sector players in Kyankwanzi.
The president said he strongly believes that the goals of Vision 2040 could be fully attained and surpassed by the year 2030.
“Why do you talk of 2040? This is for the “bamulyabyengedde” (technocrats). It is not for me,” Museveni said.
“Me I know we can hit it even by 2030. Not only hit it but also exceed.”
The Vision 2040, which was launched by President Museveni back in 2013, aims to transform Uganda from a predominantly low income to a competitive upper middle income country within 30 years.
To realize this Vision, Uganda would need to increase its GDP 30 folds from the time the Vision was launched, in order to attain the level of development observed in Upper Middle Income (UMI)
The plan envisages that Uganda’s GDP Per capita by then would have grown to USD 9,500. This currently stands at USD 817.04 according to the World Bank
But according to Museveni, through interventions such as the new Parish Model development program, this target can be attained within the current decade.
During the CEOs Leadership Retreat at the Kyankwanzi National Leadership Institute, Museveni illustrated this possibility, citing an example of a family in Kabarole district.
“Because of the campaign which we have been doing (Operation Wealth Creation), there have been some islands of waking up. There is one in a parish called Rwengaju near Fort Portal who woke up and picked our message,” Museveni said.
“Their leader Nyakana, using one acre and producing eggs and milk from zero grazing is earning 240million shillings per year.”
“If you put it in US dollars at a rate of Shs 3600, that means that family is earning $67000. If you take that the Ugandan families are 5 (members) on average, that means the per capita income of the Nyakana family is now $13000 per person.”
“The population of Uganda is now 43 million which is about 9million families. Now, assuming that 2million families are in towns and 7 in rural areas and many of them have some land; if they were all to do something similar to what Nyakana is doing, and their GDP per capita grew to $13000, your economy would be added with 455 billion dollars even before you talk about (petroleum).
“This economy can jump from where it is now to almost half a trillion in a very short time,” Museveni said.
The possibility of attaining the vision by 2030, he said is even accentuated more by the fact that the Ugandan population is now more literate and easy to train.
“These people are already educated; they have gone through UPE, some finished S4; it is just a matter of being guided. Through this Parish model, I know this economy will jump up.”
In the meeting, Museveni also rallied the business community to realise the potential and take advantage of the Ugandan population which has not yet joined the money economy.
“But for now, you are only dealing with the people who have already woken up,” he said.
“You know nothing about the potential of those still asleep.”
