'Invest in agric for productivity, not roads'

 Julius Mukunda addressing participants during the meeting

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have asked the Government to invest in agriculture and skills development if the current alarming levels of inequality are to be addressed in Uganda.

The Oxfam International Uganda country director, Peter Kamalingin, said there is need for the Government to desist from over investing in infrastructure such as roads because they have not helped much in fighting poverty and inequality.

"Everyone knows that over 70% of the Government investment has been in infrastructure such as roads, but they have not helped much to transform people.

"A utility audit should be carried out on infrastructure investment to actually find out how the communities are using them. In some areas people are using the tarmac roads to dry their maize and cassava," he stated.

During the three-day global experts meeting on inequality and public spending on social services taking place at Innophine Hotel in Entebbe last week, Kamalingin stated that for the last three decades, the economy of Uganda has been steadily growing at a rate of about 5-6%.

However, he added that only few people have benefited from the economic development which has contributed to the alarming rates of income inequality in the country.

Julius Mukunda, the executive director CSBAG, noted that for Uganda, public investments such as construction of express highways take a lot of money and end up being used by the rich hence fail to address the inequality challenges.

"Express highways can only benefit those who have motor vehicles, but over 60% of Uganda's population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. In that way they are eliminating them to benefit from public investments," he stated.

He added: "Most of the budget is on public investments hence small budget is left to fund services medicine and schools, We spend sh10,000 in schools and this is not enough."

Early this year, the inequality report released by Oxfam International showed how the gap between the rich and the poor in Uganda continues to widen at worrying rates.

The report showed that the richest 10 per cent of Ugandans have had their income grow by an impressive 20 per cent per year while the poorest Ugandans had their possessions decline by 21 per cent in the last  past 20 years.

 However, Margaret Kakande, the director for budget monitoring unit in the finance ministry said the Government is now focusing on social spending as a way to address inequality levels among Ugandans.