By Sylvia Juuko Uganda’s donor dependence is not sustainable and more attention should be paid to trade by policy makers as a long-term solution to our debt problem, the trade ministry has said.
“Economic growth in Africa depends on donor funds and this is like building an economy on a pack of cards or shifting sand. Export trade should be the solid ground on which economies should be built,” trade minister Professor Edward Rugumayo (below) said last week at the UN Economic Commission for Africa conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
Rugumayo said in Uganda the first Poverty Eradi cation Action Plan (PEAP) defined the framework for Uganda’s development but did not cover trade.
He said the revised PEAP had incorporated some trade issues.
Rugumayo said there was a need to mainstream trade policies in national plans like poverty reduction strategies.
“We need to mainstream trade issues at levels like policy, institutional, inter-sectoral, government, donor and private sector levels,” he said.
“Trade ministries are marginalised because they are given meagre resources from budget allocations,” Rugumayo said.
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