Museveni to deliver State of the Nation address

President Yoweri Museveni will on Thursday afternoon deliver his State of the Nation address highlighting achievements registered in the current financial year and plans for 2018/19 financial year.

Provided for under Article 101 of the constitution, State of the Nation address is delivered at the beginning of each session of Parliament.

However, in consultation with the Speaker, the President is at liberty to address Parliament at any time over pressing national matters.

Museveni is expected to address issues like the economy, energy, infrastructure, security and issues pertaining to governance.

The President might also address the nation on the current frosty relations between Uganda and Rwanda which has seen the common border at Gatuna closed by the latter for the last two months.

But Museveni has been conspicuous with his silence on the issue and, it will not come as a surprise if he decides to overlook the matter altogether.

This year's State of the Nation address comes at a time when indicative figures by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicate slowed economic growth.

From agriculture, the service industry to manufacturing, preliminary figures released by UBOS last week indicate that Uganda's economy is contracting.

This has been attributed to a decline in global growth and geopolitical reasons like the intermittent insecurity in South Sudan which is one of Uganda's biggest regional trading partners.

With a young population that is one of the fastest growing rates globally, Museveni has made growing the country's economy with its attendant spinoff benefits like jobs creation a core objective of his government.