Govt on track to achieving middle income status, says Opondo

Government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo. Photo/File

ECONOMIC PROGRESS

KAMPALA - Uganda is on track to achieving a middle income status even if this does not happen by 2020 as earlier planned by government, the New Vision has learnt.

At a press conference on Tuesday in Kampala, the government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo said there are indicators that the lives of Ugandans are already being transformed to a lower middle income status in line with the National Development Plan II (NDP II). 

Uganda has set a target of attaining the lower middle income status by 2020 with an annual per capita income of $1,033 according to the NDP II. This means all Ugandans including children who are not working on average should each be earning at least $1,033 (sh3.5million) annually and USD 86 (sh290,000) monthly.

It would also mean that; there will be enough food for everybody, longer years of schooling for children, fewer children dying from common diseases, having a manageable household size, absence of malnutrition, and people being able to read and write.

In addition, a middle income status would mean that Uganda has no people living in abject poverty, though with pockets of insecure non poor, no wide disparities in income distribution across the country. Currently, Uganda has an average poverty level of 19.7% countrywide

Opondo noted that even if the target of steering the country to a lower middle income status does not materialize by 2020, government will remain focused to achieve it.

"Jesus promised to come back within 2000 years and to date he has not returned but this has not in any way threatened Christianity," he said, adding Rome was also not built in one day.

Opondo was responding to a question from one of the journalists, who wondered whether government would live up to its promise of steering Uganda to a middle income state by 2020.

Among the indicators of progress towards a lower middle income status outlined in the NDP II and already achieved by 2018/19, according to Opondo are: maternal mortality rate, which has reduced to 336 per 100,000 live births against the target of 394.

Opondo also noted that the infant mortality per 1000 live births is at 43 against the target of 44 by 2018/19 while the per capita investment cost had been lowered to $54.0 against $55.0.

During the same press conference, government announced that it had shifted its funding priorities in the next financial year 2019/2020 away from infrastructure and energy in 2018-2019 to agriculture, tourism, and oil and gas.

Opondo said the move was also intended to increase the financing of the economy in Uganda to spur the country to a middle income state. He said the shift will also see the emergency agro-based industries which use raw materials produced in the country.