Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has reiterated that value addition, peace and security, and open markets remain the “correct line” for Uganda’s economic transformation.
In a meeting with Abebe Aemro Selassie of the International Monetary Fund at State House Entebbe, Museveni emphasized that Uganda’s development strategy must prioritize processing its raw materials rather than exporting them in their unprocessed form.
“I informed him that the correct line for Uganda is value addition, peace and security, and open markets,” Museveni said.
The President noted that while Uganda has maintained macroeconomic stability and relative peace, structural bottlenecks continue to undermine competitiveness. He pointed to the high costs of transport, electricity, and credit as key constraints that must be addressed to accelerate industrial growth.
Museveni also stressed the need to discourage the externalization of profits by foreign companies, urging that more earnings be reinvested locally to spur domestic capital formation, job creation, and technology transfer.
“The center of gravity of our economy is agriculture and manufacturing, and we must deliberately support them,” he stated.
Uganda’s economy remains largely agrarian, employing the majority of the population, while manufacturing has been identified as a critical driver for job creation and export growth. The government has in recent years pushed for agro-industrialization, including investments in processing facilities for coffee, dairy, fruits, and minerals.
The meeting comes amid ongoing engagements between Uganda and the IMF on fiscal discipline, debt sustainability, and structural reforms aimed at strengthening economic resilience.
Museveni has consistently argued that exporting raw materials keeps African economies at the lower end of the global value chain, insisting that industrialization and value addition are central to achieving middle-income status.
Bank of Uganda Governor, Dr Michael Atingi-Ego, Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi and Henry Musasizi, Finance State Minister, attended the meeting.
