Museveni makes case for road projects outside Uganda

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has said that the proposal to construct roads in countries out of Uganda is meant to boost trade that can enable Uganda to get resources. He was speaking during the 58th Independence Day celebrations held at State House Entebbe.

MPs and a section of the public have objected to the proposal that will see 200 billion Shillings earmarked in a supplementary budget for Uganda’s contribution to the construction of 223 kilometres of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This follows a bilateral agreement between Uganda and the DRC to implement strategic infrastructure projects. Uganda’s contribution constitutes 20 percent of the total cost of the project estimated at USD 334.5 million. Uganda plans to construct other roads in South Sudan and Ethiopia according to the Minister of Works General Katumba Wamala.

The President said that although many MPs questioned why Uganda was building roads in Congo yet it still has a poor road network, the country needs to boost its trade with DR Congo with South Sudan to build better roads. He added that the matter should not be discussed in such a way to avoid ‘annoying’ the neighbours.

The President says that the terrible roads in DRC are hindering business between the two countries, adding that when the roads are constructed, Uganda will be able to sell its electricity to DRC. Meanwhile Museveni also said that they will construct an agricultural bank since the commercial banks serve a far different purpose.

“To address this, the government has increased capitalization of Uganda Development Bank (UDB) with 1.1 trillion Shillings this financial year. We are also thinking of setting up an agricultural bank because these commercial banks are really commercial banks like their name says. They are there to fund traders who go China to import,” Museveni says.

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