Why Bill Clinton lauded Museveni’s leadership

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OPINION

By Amlan Tumusiime

Twenty-eight years ago, on March 25, 1998, The New York Times published a prominent article quoting the then-sitting US president, Bill Clinton, praising Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni as one of Africa’s new breed of leaders and a beacon of hope for the East African region.

The New York Times covered Clinton, who was visiting Uganda, becoming the first sitting US president to do so. During his 12-day tour, Clinton also visited other African countries, including Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana and Senegal. This trip was the most extensive visit to Africa by any sitting US president at the time.

Madeleine Albright, the then secretary of state who had earlier visited Uganda in 1997 ahead of Clinton’s visit, had made similar incredible praises about Museveni, saying Uganda and the East African region had gotten a good leader.

Museveni had just served 10 years as President with only two years as an elected President following the May 9, 1996, first direct presidential elections after the adoption of the 1995 constitution.

It is clear that both Clinton and Albright quickly discovered able and visionary leadership skills in Museveni, a reason they heaped him with praises. They were right because Museveni has economically moved Uganda from a once-ranked poorest country in the world to now a lower-middle-income status country.

He has also played a central and long-standing role in fostering peace, security and regional unity within the East African Community member states. Museveni’s efforts spanning nearly four decades have focused on promoting Pan-Africanism, economic integration and direct intervention to stabilise conflict-prone neighbouring states.

This is why many presidents in the region refer to him as Father of the East African region, acknowledging him as a senior, long-serving statesman and a proponent of regional integration and Pan-Africanism.

Museveni’s recent assumption of the East African Community chairmanship for a new term is good news for both Uganda and the East African Community in general. Museveni has been instrumental in peace-building and stabilisation efforts in several East African countries during his time of administration, either acting as chief mediator or contributing troops to peacekeeping missions.

In 1998, when Clinton visited Uganda, the country was running a budget of sh1,232b. Because of the visionary leadership of Museveni, Uganda now has an annual budget of sh78.249 trillion.

This has been possible because of political stability and security, macroeconomic reforms and liberalisation, massive infrastructure development, diversification and export growth, growth of services and industrialisation, regional integration, empowering the private sector and oil discovery and development. For example, Uganda is set to earn about $594m (sh2.2 trillion) in its first major oil revenues in the 2026-2027 financial year, officially entering the league of oil-producing nations. About $377m (sh1.1 trillion) is expected to be directly into the national budget, marking a significant boost to public financing. The milestone-driven projects led by Total Energies and CNOOC in Bunyoro signal a new economic chapter for Uganda as it begins to tap into its oil potential.

Museveni must be saluted for resisting a request from Shell BP to start oil exploration because by then, there were no Ugandans with the expertise to guide the Government on the technicalities of oil and gas agreements. This is why Museveni, in 1987, sponsored a team of young Ugandans led by Fred Kabagambe Kaliisa to go and train in petroleum studies, geology, chemistry and physics with the aim of building a specialised team capable of analysing data independently.

This team of Ugandan local scientists was responsible for interpreting geological, magnetic and gravity data of the Albertine Graben, verifying the existence of oil and laying the groundwork for commercial discoveries made in 2006. By investing in the human capital of local scientists first, Museveni aimed to avoid the pitfalls seen in other oil-rich nations and manage local expectations. This is how visionary Museveni is.

Museveni’s able leadership has helped Uganda enter a lower-middle-income status. The President has confirmed this. In 1986, the Ugandan economy effectively collapsed, ranked among the world’s poorest, with 85% of the citizens in subsistence ‘stomach’ work and with a hyperinflation ranging from 240% to 400%, reflecting a complete breakdown of price stability. The country was in a state of crisis, with rampant shortages of basic goods.

When writing this article, I landed on two different video clips on social media which attracted my attention.

One clip featuring the then sitting President Godfrey Binaisa explaining to foreign journalists about rampant scarcity of basic social needs like sugar, salt, soap, washing powder, flour and other basic needs, saying President Idi Amin had printed too much money and as a consequence, there was too much “Idi Amin money” chasing too few goods and this contributed to what Binaisa described as “galloping inflation” ranging at 200% per year.

In the video, citizens are in queue to buy government-imported sugar at sh15 a kilogramme, and the citizens in the video tell the journalists that they had spent five years without seeing sugar.

Each item, according to the citizens in the video, was being sold 10 times the proper price due to magendo or black market. Binaisa confirms this in the video while talking to foreign journalists.

In the second video released just a few days ago, the deputy governor Bank of Uganda, Prof. Augustine Nuwagaba, is explaining to the public that in the whole world, 192 countries, including Monaco and Vatican, Uganda is second in controlling inflation and stabilising prices. This is good news.

After watching the two videos, I remembered how Clinton, 28 years ago, while in Uganda, predicted that Museveni was going to rescue Uganda and make it a strong nation both economically, politically and a peaceful and stable nation. I found it unfair to Clinton if I do not appreciate him for his sincere prediction, and also thank Museveni for exactly doing the right thing.

I am convinced that Clinton is happy about this because he predicted rightly.

Museveni has set a unique legacy that cannot be doubted by any honest person. His legacy is basically built on developing Uganda, creating peace in the region and also helping citizens get out of poverty.

In the history of Uganda, it is only Museveni who has sent money direct to the citizens under the Parish Development Model arrangement. As of February, this year, the NRM Government had disbursed sh3.788 trillion, approximately $10b, to capitalise 10,589 savings and credit co-operative societies. This money is helping people fight poverty.

In the Holy Quran, a man asked Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) which person is most loved by God. The Prophet answered the most person loved by God is that person who is most beneficial to others. This is why Museveni is blessed. How I wish in his new Government, Museveni appoints disciplined, loyal and committed young people as ministers so that they help him keep his legacy strong and impeccable.

The writer is the NRM mobiliser Bunyoro