Amin’s ecomomic war left Uganda on crutches
The economic war that Idi Amin Dada started as a government policy, was one of the reasons that sparked off widespread international condemnation of the man who later earned himself the unenviable honour of the most brutal dictator on the African continent
By Patrick Luganda
The economic war that Idi Amin Dada started as a government policy, was one of the reasons that sparked off widespread international condemnation of the man who later earned himself the unenviable honour of the most brutal dictator on the African continent.
By the time the military took over power in Uganda in 1971, the gross domestic product had been rising at an average of 4.6%. The expulsion of the Asians in 1972 was the last nail in the coffin.
Already in 1969 Obote’s government had declared the nationalisation of 60% of all the large foreign owned companies.
This mainly affected the British and American commercial interests. Indeed in the 1968/69 financial year, the GDP growth was an impressive 11%. By 1973 the GDP growth rate was negative 0.6%.
Surprisingly, at the time Amin took over power in the January 25, 1971 military coup, he was strongly supported by the United Kingdom, Israel and other powerful western states who described the 6ft 3-inch giant as an extremely likeable character. He was the right candidate to do business with.
He had replaced a highly controversial Milton Obote, who, together with other African statesmen, were determined to bring independence to Rhodesia and cause an end to apartheid in Southern Africa. Namibia, Angola and Mozambique were also not yet independent.
Britain was particularly uneasy about the constant attack by Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Milton Obote of Uganda, the trio that led the vitriolic attack on Britain’s support of Northern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
It was thus a big sigh of relief when the 46 year -old commander of the army dethroned his master. Personality notes on Idi Amin Dada authoured by the British Embassy in Kampala in 1971, now available at the Public Records office in London, paint a positive picture of Amin.
“Popular and a natural leader of men, but simple and practically illiterate; a man of the people... An imposing presence, 6’3†in height; once a good heavyweight boxer and rugby player. As Head of State, has shown an engaging lack of formality and a disregard for his personal safety. Benevolent but tough. Well-disposed to Britain perhaps to an extent damaging to him in the African context. Speaks passable English. God fearing and deeply religious. A Muslim with four wives and seven children,†read the notes.
These notes made a few months after the coup, prior to Amin’s visit to Britain where he met none other than the Queen herself, were to prove an embarrassment to the British. Less than a year down the road, the head of state ‘had a dream’ while on a tour of the eastern region. In Tororo, he announced that he had been directed in a dream to rid Uganda of all Asians and foreigners, who were milking the economy with total disregard of the nationals of Uganda.
The 80,000 Asians mostly Indians and Pakistanis holding British passports were given 90 days to pack their bags and leave the country. It was the beginning of a nightmare for the Asians who left behind fortunes they had accumulated over generations.
When Amin took power, one of the first actions he took was the reduction of the government shares in the nationalised companies from 60% down to 49%. The exodus of the Asians who dominated the active commercial sector which drove the economy, sent shock waves through the national economy.
Britain, horrified by the action soon cut off aid as did, Israel who were also asked to leave the country. This was despite revealing declassified literature, now available that Israel was closely involved in supporting the coup that brought Amin to power.
One of the declarations of the economic war was a directive that all banking business including accounts of the government, companies and cooperative unions had to bank with Uganda Commercial Bank. The effect was the closure of all foreign-owned banks branches upcountry. Many of them ended up clustering in Kampala.
There was dancing and merrymaking in all the urban centres around the country as shops, factories and warehouses were handed over to nationals who applied. Soldiers and others, close to the seat of power allocated themselves a string of businesses.
“I have already warned that senior army officers, particularly provincial governors who have many businesses and houses will be dismissed at once from their services, so that they can go and do business. I have stressed that since the declaration of the economic war that no one should own more than one business.
It appears, however, that some army officers try to own a house in every town in Uganda. This is capitalism. They are spoiling Uganda’s name,†Amin told Drum magazine in a 1974 interview.
As the economic war progressed the nightmare extended to the ordinary people who were faced with scarcity of goods. Seemingly simple things like sugar, salt, soap, cooking oil, cloth and other everyday commodities were a preserve of the privileged few.
The GDP growth continued to post a negative with 1975 registering 2% and by 1979 it was 4.6 % . It jumped to 11.9% in 1980 mainly courtesy of the war of liberation. It is not easy to comprehend the performance of the economy as the economy literally went undeground, as black marketeering took over.
Production of sugar by 1972 was robust with the country assigned 15,075 metric tonnes to export to the European Economic Commission under the International Sugar Agreement. From a production level of 145,000 metric tonnes in 1971 the decline was by 83% by 1976 to stand at 24,650 metric tonnes.
There was a 22% decline in production of coffee by 1976, while tobacco registered a fall of 28%. However, the fall was dramatic in manufactured goods. Soap production was a mere 9% by 1978 of what it was in 1970. Cooking oil was 11% of 1970 production, while corrugated iron sheets stood at 7% of the 1970 year.
Cotton and other fabrics fell by 45 %, blankets by 86%, matches fell by 84%. A programme to try and revamp industrial production in 1977 to get back to the 1971 levels failed to take off as the machinery and equipment was too old and needed replacement.
Smuggling became the order of the day. Life in the villages turned primitive, as people had to make do with wild plants to substitute for soap and ash for salt. There was a roaring trade in crude salt from Kasese.
Those found guilty of hoarding were given weird deterrent punishments which included gobbling what they were found hoarding. It was common for the guilty to be ordered to eat up the salt they were found hoarding, beaten thoroughly and have the goods confiscated. There were stories of people being ordered to eat slippers, a punishment for appearing untidy in the city.
Amin believed that the people were far better off than before the economic war: “My aim is to revolutionalise Uganda and see that all Ugandans are very rich in future,†he said.
However, it was only a few who made capital out of the misery of the majority. Thousands of people were killed on trumped up charges of attempts to topple the government. Sabotage was a common offence that could easily lead to one’s death. Acts of sabotage included hoarding, smuggling, economic sabotage, corruption etc. These were all interpreted as attempts to make the government collapse.
As the vicious cycle of violence escalated, the top cream in government fled to exile. There was massive brain drain, but Amin downplayed any accusations of murder.
“We are a government of action. If we have evidence that an army officer is guilty of kidnapping and murder then he will face justice. There is no evidence to back up such serious allegations,†said Amin.
Amin who was later declared life president and awarded a doctorate by Makerere University, is responsible for Uganda’s economic crisis. Today, the nation is still struggling to climb out of the pit of economic decline.
The economic war that Idi Amin Dada started as a government policy, was one of the reasons that sparked off widespread international condemnation of the man who later earned himself the unenviable honour of the most brutal dictator on the African continent.
By the time the military took over power in Uganda in 1971, the gross domestic product had been rising at an average of 4.6%. The expulsion of the Asians in 1972 was the last nail in the coffin.
Already in 1969 Obote’s government had declared the nationalisation of 60% of all the large foreign owned companies.
This mainly affected the British and American commercial interests. Indeed in the 1968/69 financial year, the GDP growth was an impressive 11%. By 1973 the GDP growth rate was negative 0.6%.
Surprisingly, at the time Amin took over power in the January 25, 1971 military coup, he was strongly supported by the United Kingdom, Israel and other powerful western states who described the 6ft 3-inch giant as an extremely likeable character. He was the right candidate to do business with.
He had replaced a highly controversial Milton Obote, who, together with other African statesmen, were determined to bring independence to Rhodesia and cause an end to apartheid in Southern Africa. Namibia, Angola and Mozambique were also not yet independent.
Britain was particularly uneasy about the constant attack by Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Milton Obote of Uganda, the trio that led the vitriolic attack on Britain’s support of Northern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
It was thus a big sigh of relief when the 46 year -old commander of the army dethroned his master. Personality notes on Idi Amin Dada authoured by the British Embassy in Kampala in 1971, now available at the Public Records office in London, paint a positive picture of Amin.
“Popular and a natural leader of men, but simple and practically illiterate; a man of the people... An imposing presence, 6’3†in height; once a good heavyweight boxer and rugby player. As Head of State, has shown an engaging lack of formality and a disregard for his personal safety. Benevolent but tough. Well-disposed to Britain perhaps to an extent damaging to him in the African context. Speaks passable English. God fearing and deeply religious. A Muslim with four wives and seven children,†read the notes.
These notes made a few months after the coup, prior to Amin’s visit to Britain where he met none other than the Queen herself, were to prove an embarrassment to the British. Less than a year down the road, the head of state ‘had a dream’ while on a tour of the eastern region. In Tororo, he announced that he had been directed in a dream to rid Uganda of all Asians and foreigners, who were milking the economy with total disregard of the nationals of Uganda.
The 80,000 Asians mostly Indians and Pakistanis holding British passports were given 90 days to pack their bags and leave the country. It was the beginning of a nightmare for the Asians who left behind fortunes they had accumulated over generations.
When Amin took power, one of the first actions he took was the reduction of the government shares in the nationalised companies from 60% down to 49%. The exodus of the Asians who dominated the active commercial sector which drove the economy, sent shock waves through the national economy.
Britain, horrified by the action soon cut off aid as did, Israel who were also asked to leave the country. This was despite revealing declassified literature, now available that Israel was closely involved in supporting the coup that brought Amin to power.
One of the declarations of the economic war was a directive that all banking business including accounts of the government, companies and cooperative unions had to bank with Uganda Commercial Bank. The effect was the closure of all foreign-owned banks branches upcountry. Many of them ended up clustering in Kampala.
There was dancing and merrymaking in all the urban centres around the country as shops, factories and warehouses were handed over to nationals who applied. Soldiers and others, close to the seat of power allocated themselves a string of businesses.
“I have already warned that senior army officers, particularly provincial governors who have many businesses and houses will be dismissed at once from their services, so that they can go and do business. I have stressed that since the declaration of the economic war that no one should own more than one business.
It appears, however, that some army officers try to own a house in every town in Uganda. This is capitalism. They are spoiling Uganda’s name,†Amin told Drum magazine in a 1974 interview.
As the economic war progressed the nightmare extended to the ordinary people who were faced with scarcity of goods. Seemingly simple things like sugar, salt, soap, cooking oil, cloth and other everyday commodities were a preserve of the privileged few.
The GDP growth continued to post a negative with 1975 registering 2% and by 1979 it was 4.6 % . It jumped to 11.9% in 1980 mainly courtesy of the war of liberation. It is not easy to comprehend the performance of the economy as the economy literally went undeground, as black marketeering took over.
Production of sugar by 1972 was robust with the country assigned 15,075 metric tonnes to export to the European Economic Commission under the International Sugar Agreement. From a production level of 145,000 metric tonnes in 1971 the decline was by 83% by 1976 to stand at 24,650 metric tonnes.
There was a 22% decline in production of coffee by 1976, while tobacco registered a fall of 28%. However, the fall was dramatic in manufactured goods. Soap production was a mere 9% by 1978 of what it was in 1970. Cooking oil was 11% of 1970 production, while corrugated iron sheets stood at 7% of the 1970 year.
Cotton and other fabrics fell by 45 %, blankets by 86%, matches fell by 84%. A programme to try and revamp industrial production in 1977 to get back to the 1971 levels failed to take off as the machinery and equipment was too old and needed replacement.
Smuggling became the order of the day. Life in the villages turned primitive, as people had to make do with wild plants to substitute for soap and ash for salt. There was a roaring trade in crude salt from Kasese.
Those found guilty of hoarding were given weird deterrent punishments which included gobbling what they were found hoarding. It was common for the guilty to be ordered to eat up the salt they were found hoarding, beaten thoroughly and have the goods confiscated. There were stories of people being ordered to eat slippers, a punishment for appearing untidy in the city.
Amin believed that the people were far better off than before the economic war: “My aim is to revolutionalise Uganda and see that all Ugandans are very rich in future,†he said.
However, it was only a few who made capital out of the misery of the majority. Thousands of people were killed on trumped up charges of attempts to topple the government. Sabotage was a common offence that could easily lead to one’s death. Acts of sabotage included hoarding, smuggling, economic sabotage, corruption etc. These were all interpreted as attempts to make the government collapse.
As the vicious cycle of violence escalated, the top cream in government fled to exile. There was massive brain drain, but Amin downplayed any accusations of murder.
“We are a government of action. If we have evidence that an army officer is guilty of kidnapping and murder then he will face justice. There is no evidence to back up such serious allegations,†said Amin.
Amin who was later declared life president and awarded a doctorate by Makerere University, is responsible for Uganda’s economic crisis. Today, the nation is still struggling to climb out of the pit of economic decline.