When the NRM government came to power, the economy was in shambles. The road network was down due to the over two decades of fighting that had rendered certain parts of the country inaccessible. The industries were in shambles; virtually every sector of the economy had been run down. The government of the day was aloof to the problems and suffering of the people as it continued to suck the little that could still be produced with reckless abandon.
However, all hope was not lost. Steps towards economic recovery began in 1987.On the advice of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund; Bank of Uganda implemented the Structural Adjustment Programme.
This included devaluation of the Uganda shilling to bring it closer to the market value and also to curb the sky rocketing inflation. All this was meant to pull the economy out of recession. And it indeed happened. Today, information from Bank of Uganda shows inflation standing at 14.2%, the worst in the last nine years.
Privatisation
In 1993, the government embarked on the privatisation of state enterprises. This was meant to put formerly state owned enterprises that totalled 139 into the hands of the private sector. Privatisation was done concurrently with restructuring. This involved a complete overhaul of enterprises that were deemed non profitable and thus inefficient in order to make them profitable. It also involved retrenchment. Many people were laid off and they added to the already surging numbers of unemployed. Though this was a painful step, it paid dividends as former moribund enterprises turned into real engines of economic activity.
A study was carried out by Prof Ddumba Ssentamu, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Makerere University, commissioned in 2001 by the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative (SAPRI) to asses the impact of privatisation on society. The study found out that on one part, the government had used the chance to undervalue the state enterprises and sell them to the cronies of the regime, a fact that is disputed by the spokesperson of the privatisation unit, Jim Mugunga.
But on the other hand, it was found that privatisation had been a panacea to Uganda’s economy and that it indeed led to the provision of quality goods and services on the market. Secondly, it led to increased profitability and higher employment levels in the privatised enterprises.
Liberalisation
Liberalisation to insulate Uganda’s economy from over reliance on agricultural exports saw the NRM government in 1997 diversifying Uganda’s exports. The aim has been to move away from traditional coffee, cotton to non traditional exports like Horticulture and fish which have contributed greatly to the Gross Domestic Product. In the current budget, agriculture contributed 30.2 percent making it the second contributor after services.
Tourism
Uganda may not boast of huge and well-developed national parks like neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania, but after years of misrule, there is a turnaround in numbers of animals especially elephants and antelopes, which had been killed by undisciplined soldiers and poachers during the reign of Idi Amin.
Visitors mostly come to Uganda to watch gorillas which are found in southwestern Uganda in two of the only four parks in the world where the gentle giants live. One park is Mghahinga, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where gorilla families are found.
Uganda is also one of the best places in which to watch chimpanzees. These primates are seen easily in Kibale Forest National Park and in the Budongo tropical forest, though deforestration is threatening their existence. There are also chimps in Chambura River Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Meanwhile an island sanctuary for chimpanzees has been set up in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Other national parks include Kibale National park, Kidepo National park, Mt Elgon National park and Semuliki Game Reserve.
In 2007/8, the tourism industry contributed $475m to GDP from the 642,000 tourists that visited Uganda last year. The services sector contributes 45.1% to GDP making it the highest contributor, according to statistics from the ministry of Finance. Because of the relative peace that Uganda has enjoyed in most parts of the country, in the last 23 years, there has been a surge in the number of tourists visiting Uganda. This, in turn has contributed greatly to the growth of the hotel industry.
Investment
Statistics from Uganda investment Authority for the year 2008 indicate that 349 projects, with a planned investment value of $ 2,380,970,020 ($2.4 billion), projected to create 48,374 jobs were registered. This shows that Uganda is an investment-friendly country than ever before. This is has seen it become a central distribution point for regional markets in Southern Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
UIA attributes this development to domestic security, market reform, and tax breaks.  Uganda’s manufacturing sector contributes 24.7% to the national budget. Many of these industries process agricultural products, manufacture light consumer goods, production of beverages, and cement. However, analysts say that the exportation of raw products thus with no value addition has led to increased unfavourable Balance of Payments. They continue to argue that the figures given by UIA are quantitative and that in fact they do not reflect the reality on the ground. Once companies declare their interest to invest in Uganda, UIA doesn’t take the initiative to find whether the investments really take off. This leaves UIA with investments figures that exist virtually.
This period has seen a growth in number of remittances from Ugandan citizens working n the Diaspora. In the financial year 2007/8, remittances from Ugandans living abroad hit 1.9 trillion. Bank of Uganda estimates show that from 2000 to 2007 remittances averaged $341.2m per annum, almost equivalent to foreign direct investments that averaged $345.5m during the same period
Communication sector
There has been a great leap in the communications sector which was liberalised in 1996, a factor that has drawn at least seven private telecommunication firms to the industry. However, only four telecom companies including Zain, MTN Uganda, Uganda Telecom and Warid Telecom are operational while France’s Orange is preparing to launch its Uganda division in 2009. Statistics from the Uganda Communications Commission indicate that there are currently seven million subscribers according to Dr. Ham Mukasa Mulira, the Minister of Information Technology; this includes for both mobile and landline phones.
At the celebrations to mark ten years of Uganda Communication Commission recently, the regulator body of the industry, Dr Mulira commended the government for having liberalised fully the communications sector.
“I am pleased to inform you that the policy adopted has yielded extremely positive results with penetration growing from 5 to 6 per cent in 2006 to over 20 per cent in just over two years,â€
The broadcasting sector was liberalised in 1993. Prior to this period Radio Uganda and Uganda television enjoyed monopoly. They were thus turned into propaganda machinery by the sitting regimes.
Today the situation is different. The NRM government’s ideas can be counteracted with ideas from the opposition using various fora. Details from the Uganda Communications Commission indicate that there are over 218 and 47 licensed private radio and television stations respectively. However, pundits blame the government for having liberalised the air waves without proper policy in place. They say that what the government is actually doing now is to regulate retrospectively.
Infrastructure
The road network is one area that has experienced tremendous improvement over the last 23 years. This has involved the incorporation of an independent department in the ministry of Works and Transport. The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). The mandate of UNRA is to develop and maintain the national road network which currently stands at 10,500 km. However, the length of the national network is likely to be increased by an additional 8000 km by the end of the FY 2008/09.
UNRA will ultimately be responsible for approximately 20,000 kms of national roads along with associated drainage systems and bridges as well as for axle load management and ferry services connecting the national roads system to specific islands and other areas. During the FY 2008/09, Government has earmarked UGX 1.083 trillion for the Road Sector of which UGX 948 billion will be managed by UNRA to implement Government programmes on the National Roads Network. A total of 1159 km of roads have been rehabilitated, 790 km, of tarmac have been constructed, 369 km of new tarmac are under construction, 373 km of tarmac under rehabilitation, and  over 18,400 km (out of 30,000 km) districts roads have been rehabilitated.
But concerns are still many as road accidents have become perennial due to poorly constructed roads.
Perhaps the most neglected part of the transport sector in the NRM regime has been the rail line. The rail line covers a total of 1256km throughout Uganda. But surprisingly, a meagre 256km is active and this is the Kampala-Malaba route. The remaining 1000km is down. In some places, the rails have been vandalised. Several efforts to revamp it have been in vain. For example the formation of a concessionaire between Uganda and Kenya that saw the awarding of a contract to a South African company-Rift Valley Railway in 2006 never salvaged the situation. The wagons have been transferred to Kenya. Marine transport has suffered a similar fate. Consultations to renovate the grounded ferries, MV Pamba and MV Kaawa have been slow. The two are in position to carry 1480 metric tonnes per trip. Analysts say once they are operational it takes 10-14 days to deliver the cargo from Dar es Salaam to Port Bell in Uganda. This would have compensated for failure of the railway line to easy cargo haulage from the coast.
Because of RVR’s failure to meet its side of the bargain, the ministers of Kenya and Uganda are in the process to cancelling its contract.
NRM achievements and challenges have been great in the last two decades but the government’s intransigence to finally root out corruption in government departments and ministries remain a dent to be removed.
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