LOOKING BACK ON HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN UGANDA SINCE 1986, PRESIDENT YOWERI MUSEVENI IS QUOTED IN THE 2016-2021 NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT (NRM) PARTY MANIFESTO TO HAVE SAID: “THE NRM HAS BEEN LIKE A POLITICAL DOCTOR TRYING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF UGANDA. IN ORDER TO TREAT A DISEASE, HOWEVER, YOU MUST, FIRST OF ALL, DIAGNOSE THE ILLNESS.” OVER TIME, MUSEVENI HAS ROLLED OUT MAJOR PROGRAMMES TO UPLIFT PEOPLE FROM THE JAWS OF POVERTY. FROM POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME, ENTANDIKWA, BONNABAGGAWALE (PROSPERITY FOR ALL) PROGRAMME; THE CENTRAL THEME OF PRESIDENT MUSEVENI’S 2006 CAMPAIGN, TO OPERATION WEALTH CREATION AND NOW THE PARISH DEVELOPMENT MODEL, THE SEARCH FOR THE POVERTY ANTIDOTE HAS BEEN ON, DAVID LUMU WRITES.LOOKING BACK ON HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN UGANDA SINCE 1986, PRESIDENT YOWERI MUSEVENI IS QUOTED IN THE 2016-2021 NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT (NRM) PARTY MANIFESTO TO HAVE SAID: “THE NRM HAS BEEN LIKE A POLITICAL DOCTOR TRYING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF UGANDA. IN ORDER TO TREAT A DISEASE, HOWEVER, YOU MUST, FIRST OF ALL, DIAGNOSE THE ILLNESS.” OVER TIME, MUSEVENI HAS ROLLED OUT MAJOR PROGRAMMES TO UPLIFT PEOPLE FROM THE JAWS OF POVERTY. FROM POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME, ENTANDIKWA, BONNABAGGAWALE (PROSPERITY FOR ALL) PROGRAMME; THE CENTRAL THEME OF PRESIDENT MUSEVENI’S 2006 CAMPAIGN, TO OPERATION WEALTH CREATION AND NOW THE PARISH DEVELOPMENT MODEL, THE SEARCH FOR THE POVERTY ANTIDOTE HAS BEEN ON, DAVID LUMU WRITES.

In his foreword to the 2016-2021 NRM manifesto, Museveni said: “Each of these manifestos has a theme in tandem with the stages of the country’s progress. The 1996 manifesto had Tackling the Tasks Ahead as the theme. The one of 2001 was Consolidating the achievements. For 2006 it was Prosperity for All, while the 2011 manifesto had Prosperity for All: Better Service Delivery and Job-Creation. For the 2016 manifesto, the central theme and message is Taking Uganda to Modernity through Job-creation and Inclusive Development.

YOUTH LIVELIHOOD FUND
As a deliberate effort to create jobs for the youth, the Youth Livelihood Fund (YLF) was rolled out to enable youth who are not in formal employment to create jobs for themselves and also employ others in a wider drive to combat poverty, especially at the household level.

The YLP is based on the three pillars of skills development, livelihood support and institutional support.

The programme targets unemployed youth aged 18-30, but questions have been asked as to whether the YLP leads to the empowerment of the target groups, with many youths decrying the cumbersome red-tape that frustrates their appetite to access these funds.

The YLF is complimented with various presidential initiatives such as the Presidential Initiative on Skilling the Youth, which has seen several youths given equipment to expand their vocational and mechanical skills. One of such beneficiaries is youth under the Najera Presidential Initiative Youth Training Centre in Wakiso district, who Museveni has directly supported with common user facilities in metal fabrication.

With the government support of over sh256b since YLF was launched in 2014, a number of youth groups have been empowered across the country. In 2018, when an evaluation of YLP was conducted, the Government found out that the majority of the youth projects financed are in the agricultural sector (32%), followed by trade (29%) services (23%) and industry (6%).

The unknown programmes were 10%. The programme, the evaluation report noted, had also improved access to funds and financial access for the youth by 4.5%, while the percentage of beneficiaries with bank accounts increased from 21% at baseline in 2017 to 24.7% in 2018.

“The Youth Livelihood Programme financed 21,076 projects worth sh167.579b, benefiting 250,006 youth, of which 45% are female. Approximately 53% — 45.466 youth were supported under Youth Venture Capital Fund Programme, thus bringing the cumulative value of the revolving funds to sh160.030b administered by Centenary Bank. The recovery of funds was sh41.980b,” the Government Annual Performance Report for the financial year 2020/2021 noted.

“Several initiatives (Songhai, green jobs, jua-kalis etc) 6,520 beneficiaries received training and start-up tool kits in different disciplines,” the report added.

The Presidential Initiative on Skilling the Girl Child is the other component of the youth empowerment project, which has over time enabled the girl child to garner skills in various vocational areas.

In the first year of the initiative, at least 8,480 girls graduated following intensive six-month training. Skilling the girl child project also has a direct linkage with the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), an initiative fronted by Museveni to improve access to financial services for women and equip them with skills for enterprise growth, value addition and marketing of their products and services.

The Government Annual Performance Report for 2020/2021 noted that under UWEP, 13,822 projects worth sh85.615b were financed, benefiting 166,295 women. “Sh18.67b was recovered out of sh26.30b, reflecting 70.81%. The majority of the women are engaged in agriculture, wholesale and retail trade.

As a result, direct and indirect employment was created, domestic violence reduced, increased household incomes, financial inclusion for women improved, confidence level amongst women improved, reduced dependence syndrome, contribution to import substitution and export promotion was significant, women were paying taxes,” the report added.

During a citizen mass sensitisation up-country tour of the country in 2019, Museveni noted that ever since he rolled out special funds such as YLP and UWEP, a total of 28,247 groups and 250,000 individuals have accessed support through these funds.

INNOVATION FUND
In 2016, the President also rolled out the Innovation Fund, which he said would spur innovations, among other scientific inventions across the country.

The Presidential Initiative on Science and Technology buffers the Innovation Fund and also oils the innovation journey, especially in science and technology. One of such innovations that directly benefited from the Innovation Fund is the Kiira EV motor vehicle project.

Today, Kiira Motors Project (KMP), on top of working toward the establishment of the first vehicle plant in Uganda, is working on the first electric hybrid vehicle designed and built in Africa and the Kayoola Solar Bus.

The scientific innovations on the cure and local vaccine for COVID-19 are the other innovation projects that the President has pledged to fund, especially the COVIDEX drug by Prof. Patrick Ogwang, Dr Grace Nambatya of the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute (NCRI) and David Ssenfuka, the proprietor of Leonia-NNN Medical Research and Diagnostic Centre, who has made local research breakthrough in the treatment of cancer and diabetes, among other innovators.

In the last financial year, sh10b was set aside by Government for innovation. “Supporting technological innovations by increasing the Innovation Fund, providing support to the Kiira vehicle project until a car is put on the road.

Also support other scientists working on projects of the same nature, establishing regional innovation centres for nurturing individual private sector enterprises and technology,” the Government Annual Performance Report for 2020/2021, noted singling out the establishment of iron and steel industry in Kabale, Kisoro and Kanungu, Lake Katwe salt factory, construction of a sheet glass factory in Masaka and the establishment of seven zonal agro-processing facilities at Arua, Soroti, Luwero, Kayunga, Ntungamo, Masaka and Kasese as some of the unfulfilled innovation projects that need to be supported.

Other special funds include the Micro-finance fund, which enables easy capital access and the Social Assistance Grant for the Elderly (SAGE) that oils the lives of people of 80 years and above, were also rolled out to enable citizens to fight poverty.

The Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF), Luwero Triangle Fund and the Poverty Alleviation Department initiative that empowers communities through the parish model system are the other initiatives that Museveni vehemently pushes to combat poverty. The President also recently started the Ghetto Youth Initiative to empower ghetto people in various slum dwellings to fight poverty.

EMYOOGA
The formation of saving schemes across the country is the other initiative that Museveni has been strong on, arguing that these saving schemes enable people to access to credit without facing the rigorous and hectic banking pressures.

About five years ago, Museveni also released a detailed agenda for SACCOS, saying they should be sector-specific (myooga) for easy support from the Government. In his statement, Museveni advised that these sectorspecific SACCOS should be grouped in associations such as bodaboda, women entrepreneurs, carpenters, salon operators, taxi operators and restaurant associations. Others are welders, market vendors, youth leaders, people with disabilities, produce dealers, mechanics, tailors, media operators, fishermen and the performing arts associations.

The target, Museveni said in a statement, is sh20m annual income per household across the country. “If each of the eight million homesteads of Uganda earned sh20m per year, that effort would add an extra $44b (sh181 trillion) to our economy. The size of the economy would therefore jump to $74b (sh304.487 trillion) by the foreign exchange rate method,” he said. “Each of these should form their own SACCOS, which should be joined by everybody in that mwooga in the district that chooses to do so.

Those who do not want to join, it will be their choice. The Government can, then, contribute to each of these SACCOS. These myooga–based SACCOS are better than the katogo (mixed grill) SACCOS because they focus on one activity. Secondly, everybody in the district in that mwooga who feels inclined to, joins,” he added.

According to government officials, a total of sh200b has been disbursed to various Emyooga SACCOS across the country since the project was rolled out two years ago. The microfinance state minister, Haruna Kasolo, noted that over 6,000 SACCOS have been registered and their members have managed to save sh9.9b.

A government performance report indicated that in the financial year 2020/2021, sh216.5b was released for the Presidential Initiative on Emyooga and sh50b for microfinance to support small-scale enterprises

OWC/ FOUR-ACRE-MODEL
With a key goal of transforming the 68% of “sleeping” Ugandans from subsistence to commercial farming, Museveni also introduced the “Four-Acre-Model” under the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) programme. Under the Four-Acre-Model initiative, Museveni advised that the first acre is used to grow cash crops such as coffee and tea, the second for growing fruits, the third is for pasture for dairy cows and the fourth is set aside for food security at the household level.

This commercial agriculture initiative coupled with value addition through mechanisation of agriculture and promotion of usage of fertilisers and irrigation is one of the mechanisms that the President believes will spur economic transformation of homesteads across the country. The other sectors for wealth creation and job promotion, which Museveni points out, include industries (big or small); services (hotels, transport, professional services, shops); and ICT (Business Process Outsourcing — (BPOs). “We will consolidate OWC to increase the number of commercial farmers and better co-ordinate the production chain from the farm to the factory,” Museveni noted in the NRM manifesto of 2016-2021.

Empowering small-scale factories/cottage industries across the country are the other initiatives that Museveni has initiated over time to boost value addition. Commenting about the concept of small cottage industries, Museveni said in the 2016- 2021 NRM manifesto:

“These are mostly manufacturing industries with heavy production concentration of foods and beverages, leather and foot wear, textiles and clothing and metal works. Micro, small and mediumscale enterprises (MSMEs) currently dominate the country’s manufacturing sector.” Since the OWC initiative was rolled out in 2016, the President recently noted that the 68% of homesteads that were dependent on subsistence farming or traditional farming have dropped to 39%. This means that the next hurdle is to uplift the 29% of homesteads from traditional farming to commercial farming so that they can join the money economy.

The guiding questions for traditional farmers who want to embrace commercial farming, Museveni said, are many. “The questions are: How much money is this land generating per annum? What can it maximally generate if it is rationally used? My present campaign in Kiruhuura is:

Do not only not divide the land but also form legally binding family companies where all of you are directors and decide on what uniform and maximally profitable activities should be undertaken on that land in order to make that family rich and also make the country rich”. It is not excusable to continue under-utilising and misusing what God gave us, but at the same time, crying about poverty and lack of jobs,” he said.

The Kayoola solar bus, a product of the Kiira EV motor vehicle project, a benefi ciary of the presidential innovation fund. Kiira Motors is working towards the establishment of the fi rst vehicle plant in Uganda

BANANA INITIATIVE
Irked by the over 50% wastage rate of harvested matooke (banana) across the country in 2005, Museveni mooted the idea of setting up the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID).

To oil the idea, the President appointed Prof. Florence Muranga, a renowned nutritionist and lecturer at the Makerere University Food Science and Technology department, whose PhD thesis centred on banana varieties.

The goal, Museveni said at the time, was to add value to matooke, one of the most grown food varieties in Uganda. In fact, statistics indicate that Uganda is among the top five leading banana producers in the world, with a 30% contribution to the world banana production.

The banana cover in Uganda is 37% of the total farmland in the country. Therefore, as a mechanism of providing banana farmers with science-led processing and value addition enterprising projects, Muranga, with support from the President, embarked on the journey.

The first stage was to set up an industry in Bushenyi district to boost the value addition chain of bananas to cater for both local and international market. With a sh22.3b budget at the time, works started, and 15 years later, the products processed from bananas have hit the market — packed under a Ugandan brand, TOOKE. Tooke porridge, biscuits, cakes and bread are some of the products that the PIBID project currently channels out.

Within Uganda, bananas are considered a staple food crop, contributing to over 75% of the farmers’ grown crop. To expand research, Muranga’s banana project has also expanded, with the establishment of the Technology Business Incubator at Nyaruzinga in Bushenyi district.

During an inspection tour last year, Muranga explained that the Banana Industrial Research & Development Center (BIRDC) at Nyaruzinga was set up to support farmers and enterprise development in banana value addition chain.

She added that these various banana development facilities also act as ‘learning’ centres for various banana farmers across the country, who flock these centres to learn new banana farming models. As a result of the Presidential Initiative on Banana, Uganda now exports TOOKE flour to Oman, Europe, Japan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and North America.

KAWUMU FARM MODEL
To show Ugandans that it possible to achieve the Four-Acre-Model, shortly after the 2016 general election, Museveni hit the ground and pitched camp at Kawumu in Luwero district. His agenda was to start a demonstration farm.

The President grabbed a jerrycan and rode a bicycle through his expansive 24-acre area and fetched water from a well. Then, using bottles, he demonstrated how farmers can employ bottle-irrigation to manoeuvre the drought that was eating away crops at the time.

Many laughed, but the President explained that the idea behind the demonstration was to, among other things, show farmers, majority of whom belong to the lot that are currently trapped in traditional agriculture, that even with limited space, one can maximize outputs and make profits.

He described the demonstration farm as springboard that would kick-start the transition of the 68% Ugandans depending on subsistence agriculture into commercial farmers.

HANDS-ON PRESIDENT
Similar presidential demonstration farms have already been started in Kityerera in Busoga region and Baralegi in Otuke district, Lango sub-region to show people that using a fouracre model, one can make money from agriculture.

During the launch of the Baralegi demonstration farm last year in April, Museveni said: “It is unacceptable for the majority of Ugandans to continue living in poverty in a country that is gifted with good soils, enough rains and excellent climate.” In establishing these demonstration farms, Museveni said he wanted to personally get involved in commercial agriculture and set an example.

Four years later, the Kawumu Presidential Demonstration Farm has become a learning centre for citizens and visitors, who want to replicate the four-acre model that Museveni said would be the magic bullet for people who have limited space for farming.

Under the four-acre model, the President says, one can grow an acre of bananas (matooke), an acre of fruits (oranges, pineapples, mangoes, etc), an acre of coffee then rear animals such as pigs, Friesian cows for milk, goats and even poultry in the backyard and then plant grass to feed the animals on the other acre.

Changing the mindset of Ugandans was the main goal of these demonstration farms, and the results have started to show. For instance, in Kityerere, Mayuge district, an area known for sugarcane growing, people have started to emulate the Museveni four-acre model.

Growing sugarcane is good, Museveni said, adding that for one to get commercial sense out of sugarcane growing, they need to grow it on a larger scale and not on four acres or less.

For the 68% of the population that is stuck in subsistence farming to jump out of the trap, Museveni says, they must engage in commercial farming with proper family economics at the back of their minds.

Tying in with the OWC programme where soldiers are distributing free farm inputs to citizens, the four-acre model plan, if implemented well, could change around the household income of citizens, especially the 68% of the population that largely live in rural areas with expansive chucks of land to utilise.

PARISH DEVELOPMENT MODEL
With the intervention of OWC, especially the distribution of farm inputs by soldiers, Museveni recently said in his New Year’s address that the number of homesteads that are trapped in subsistence and traditional farming has dropped from 68% to 39%.

“I must salute the OWC officers that, on my orders, intervened in distributing inputs of coffee, tea, fruits, etc. UBOS has now said the homesteads of the bakolera ekidda kyoonka (working for the stomach only), are now only 39%.

This is the first time in all human history when the majority of Ugandans have joined the money economy. I decided to remove the OWC from the distribution of seedlings, this success notwithstanding,” he said.

To buttress this progress, Museveni added that the Parish Development Model will be rolled out in February this year to ensure that stakeholders, who are beneficiaries, directly handle their progress.

“The Government money will be sent to their SACCOS and they will buy seedlings or whatever they want to buy, provided it is on the list of the recommended crops that are high value and have a market within Uganda, within the region, within Africa and the World. We have opted for the owner controlled formula, instead of the programme being controlled by public servants (whether soldiers or not).

“This PDM is for the former 68% of the homesteads (the 29% bazukufu and the 39% still asleep). “With 32% of the population that were already in the money economy by 2013, we urge them to be more industrial in agriculture, mining, etc, and also do more value addition,” the President said.