President Museveni has hosted Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund, for discussions on Uganda’s economic performance and strategies to widen the country’s tax base.
The meeting at State House Entebbe focused on sustaining growth, strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation and advancing reforms to support long-term development.
President Museveni expressed confidence in the country’s economic trajectory, saying: “The economy is doing well and will do even better,” noting that Uganda is currently growing at approximately seven percent annually and is poised for further expansion, particularly through value addition.
He emphasised that sustainable economic transformation must be anchored on strong defence and security structures.
“Africa has been messed up by doing things which are not critical. If you are not dealing with defence and security and you have scout movements and you call them an army, what are you doing? Without a strong army, there is no development,” he said.
The President reiterated Uganda’s long-standing policy that wealth creation should be driven by the private sector rather than state-owned enterprises.
“Some people said parastatals or government companies should lead the economy, but we rejected that. We said the main economy should be in the hands of the private sector,” he noted.
Museveni underscored the importance of lowering production and business costs, including electricity, internet, fuel — particularly jet fuel — as well as expanding affordable railway transport and pipeline infrastructure.
He called on the IMF to support measures aimed at reducing the cost of doing business and strengthening productive sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.
The President also highlighted the need for affordable financing to support manufacturers and farmers, pointing to the role of the Uganda Development Bank in providing patient capital.
On market access, he stressed the importance of value addition and external trade.
“We must add value to what we produce. As the country grows at seven percent, it will grow even more with value addition,” he said.
Selassie commended Uganda for maintaining consistent economic growth, describing it as one of the few African countries to sustain steady expansion over time. He encouraged continued economic reforms to broaden the economy and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation through widening the tax base.
The meeting reaffirmed the continued partnership between Uganda and the IMF in promoting macroeconomic stability and sustainable development.
