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A New Dawn Is Upon Us...

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD 1
THE SUMMIT OF THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (UGANDA) 3
A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT 6
THE 8 CRITICAL POINTS 7
MANIFESTO SYNOPSIS 9
REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS 11
1. Good Governance
13
2. Transparency & Accountability - Fighting Corruption
15
The Cost of Corruption
15
Rewarding the Whistleblower
16
3. Rule of Law and Constitutionalism
17
Armed Forces
18
Human Rights
18
4. Public Sector Management & Administration
19
TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY 20
1. Agriculture How to Grow Out of Poverty
21
Warehouse Receipting with Storage Silos
22
Post-harvest Handling Losses
22
Skills Development for Farmers
22
Mechanisation of Agriculture
22
Conservation and Boosting Our Fisheries Resources
22
ADVANCED SUB-COUNTY MODEL (ASM) 23
An Agricultural Commodity Exchange.
25
2. Energy
26
Residential Grid-Tied Solar Power
27
Oil & Minerals
28
3. Jobs For All
29
KEY FACTS ON UNEMPLOYMENT IN UGANDA
29
The Reality: 32,746 Government Jobs are Unoccupied (Financial Year 2013/2014)
29
New Initiatives
32
4. Industry
33
5. Roads and Transport
34
6. Clean and Safe Water for all
35
7. Our Environment
36
8. Tourism The Pearl of Africa
37
9. Our Information and Communications Technology Policy
38
SOCIAL SERVICES 39
1. Quality Education and Skills Development
40
Pre-Primary Education
41
2. Healthcare
42
Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme
43
3. Gender Equality And Womens Empowerment
44
4. Pensioners And Senior Citizens
45
5. Persons With Disabilities And Special Learning Needs
46
6. Housing and Urban Development
47
THE 50 YEAR MASTER PHYSICAL PLAN
48
7. Ugandans in the Diaspora
49
8. Bulungi Bwansi (Community Service)
50
SECURITY, INTERNATONAL TRADE AND FOREIGN POLICY 51
1. Securing Our Country, Your Home and Neighbourhood
52
2. Trade, Diplomacy and International Relations
53
NATIONAL UNITY 54
1. Unity: A Country That Works For All
55
2. Arts, Culture and Values
56
3. Sports
57
National Teams: Aiming for the Stars
58
4. The Uganda Cadets - An Exclusive National Service
59
How We Will Finance These New Ideas 60

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

Foreword
Fellow Ugandans:
I greet you in Yumbe and Kaabong, in Hoima
and Busia, in Bushenyi and Kamuli and in every
household that sits on this favoured land. I greet
you in neighbouring Kenya and Rwanda, and in
far away Beijing, London and Boston.
Wherever you are, we need to look to the future.
This is the task that what we, The Democratic
Alliance (Uganda), have undertaken in the last few
months whilst putting together this manifesto.
But this is not something only our leaders must
consider, it is also our task as Ugandans. It is
the duty that each of us as citizens owe to our
children and grandchildren, to the children of our
neighbours, to our respective communities and
to the generations to come.
Uganda at 53 years of age has come a long
way from the time when Africa was a continent
of kingdoms and self-governing nations, clans
and kinsfolk. In these 53 years we have known
violence, terror and death. But we have also
learned that it is possible to have peace, calm
and longer life. And although we, as a country,
are not where we want to be, it is important to
recognise that our former presidents have, in
their own ways, contributed to our advancement
as a nation. Still, the time has come to take this
country in a new direction.
It is time to mature.
It is time to individually and collectively hold
ourselves to a higher standard.
It is time to build trust and confidence in our
society. Trust between citizens and the State;
between ethnic groupings and social classes;
trust among political parties and various
government and non-government institutions
and organisations.
Building this trust is no easy task. It will take time
and will be a result of accomplishments made,
goals achieved and promises kept. The best way
for us to start this process is to understand what
is expected of each other. The citizens must know
what the government can and cannot do for
them. The government, in turn, must understand
what its role is in the life of every Ugandan and
then endeavour, to the best of its ability, to fulfil
that role. Communication is key, as it is in any

relationship. As such, before we present our


manifesto, we will present to you our pledges.
After our pledges and promises, our manifesto.
This is our plan for the developments we would
like to achieve in the future; the plans we have set
in place to create new, and strengthen existing
institutions that will help organise our society for
the comfort and safety of our nationals; the steps
we will take to transform the economy so that
all our citizens can participate and contribute
through their own work effort; the initiatives we
propose to ensure that the Rule of Law becomes
a cornerstone of the functionality of this country.
Furthermore, our manifesto includes plans
to ensure sure that security services are well
equipped, adequately remunerated and that
their main goal is the protection of Ugandan
citizens. You will read about our plans in the
healthcare sector; you will see that we believe
an individuals good health is not only a human
right but a requirement for the prosperity of our
country Uganda.
We cannot do this on our own. We have many
plans to which we would wish each and every
Ugandan makes a contribution.
I want to thank you for taking an interest in our
future. Many of you have reached out to tell me
what you want to see happen in government. .
Many have explained how the failures of previous
governments have impacted their lives directly,
proposing various remedies.
I hope that this manifesto and social contract
adequately represent your hopes and dreams,
those of your families and for your communities.
I hereby present our vision of a Uganda that
works for everyone.
For God and My Country,

Amama Mbabazi SC,


Presidential Candidate 2016

AMAMA
MBABAZI

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

THE SUMMIT OF THE DEMOC

CRATIC ALLIANCE (UGANDA)

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

Now is the time...

A New Social Contract

e pledge to perform the role of


government as expected by the
Constitution of Uganda and by the
citizens of our country who choose
every 5 years to, through the electoral process,
approve the type of government we have.
This role entails ensuring that all Ugandans can
actively participate in their own governance;
promoting
national
unity;
recognizing
and
respecting the diversity of our people in terms of
culture, religion, ideology and political affiliation;
defending our sovereignty and our national borders;
building and/or strengthening institutions both
governmental and non-governmental that work for
the promotion of human rights as well as to enhance
tenets of good governance. The other critical roles
of government, however, are to ensure provision of
high quality, accessible and affordable services and
to ease the development process of Uganda so that
private business, big, medium and small, agriculture,
tourism, and the manufacturing industry can be
stimulated to grow; land ownership and transfer of
land and other assets is smooth; and finally, that all
the opportunities offered to our people can reach
everyone in Uganda.

e additionally pledge to uphold the


human rights of the citizens of Uganda
as laid down in the Constitution. Our
government will not act to remove or
deny any citizen his/her rights. A simple yardstick of
this role is that whatever an individual is not allowed
to do, the government cannot do under the law. This
is an unrecognized concept in Uganda. Our policy
on human rights issues is as follows:

e shall adopt a broad and liberal


policy towards the observance and
protection of human rights and ensure
that all the instruments of government
including the police, intelligence services and all
service providers uphold the interests of all groups in
society particularly the less privileged, marginalized
minorities, the vulnerable and the disenfranchised.

e believe in the right of every Ugandan


to own property; the issue of land
ownership has become contentious
in many areas. Accusations of land
grabbing are rampant. As such we commit to
resolve this problem once and for all. We shall do
the following:
We shall end land grabbing.
We shall uphold the citizens right to own land as
declared in the Constitution.
We shall strike decisive blows against corruption
in land transactions.
For all areas where disputes exist such
as Northern Uganda, the Cattle Corridor,
Rwamwanja in Kamwenge, Kayunga and other
areas, we shall declare a short-term moratorium
on land transactions until ownership disputes
have been resolved.
We will institute a public inquiry into the status
of land ownership, transaction history and
make decisions based on our findings to ensure
administrative redress.
We shall take inventory of all public land;
both titled and untitled to assess the status of
ownership and secure the land in public interest.
Finally, we will undertake a Land Law Reform
to harmonize the relevant laws and make the
process of land registration more efficient and
transparent. All Ugandans who own property/
land will be protected from the possibility of
losing it through unscrupulous processes.
In return, we ask all Ugandans to make this pledge
as follows:

I pledge to abide by all the


laws of Uganda and to perform
the duties of a citizen as
provided for in Objective 29
of the National Constitution.

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

WHO WE ARE
GO FORWARD|TDA (U) is committed to the Rule of Law, Respect for Human Rights
and the dignity of all persons.
GO FORWARD|TDA (U) shall oversee a robust Mixed-All-Inclusive-Economy that
ensures Social Security, Justice, Equality and Equity.
GO FORWARD | TDA (U) shall promote International and Regional Security as well
as Economic Cooperation.

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

MANIFESTO SYNOPSIS

For You:

A Government That Respects The Rule Of Law In Totality And Shuns Impunity

Strong Institutions Of Government

A Zero-Tolerance Culture To Corruption

Affordable Electricity For Your Home And Business

A Better Healthcare System, Good Quality Education And Skills Enhancement

A Political Culture That Is Tolerant Of Diversity Of Thought And Opinions
For The Youth:

444,160 New Jobs Will Be Created At The Sub-County Level (Public Sector)

Expanding Economy And Greater Opportunity Expected To Create A Minimum Of 3,500,000 Jobs Over

The Next 5 Years (Private Sector)

Community Centres With Recreational Facilities, Free Internet And Excellent Sports Facilities At Every

Sub-County And Qualified Trainers

A Peaceful Transition Of Leadership From Our Generation To Your Generation

Increased Family Income

A Modern Healthcare Insurance Scheme

Education That Makes You Globally Competitive

Liberty To Contest For All Elective Positions
For Teachers:

A Significant Pay Rise And Improved Welfare For Teachers

A System Of Teacher Career Progression Where Teachers Are Promoted

Free Staff Houses To Be Constructed At School Premises

A Teachers Cooperative And Saving Society In Every Sub-County Will Provide Cheap Credit For Members

Restoration Of The Dignity Of And Respect For Teachers
For Women:

Safer Childbirth and Pre- And Ante-Natal Care

Affordable Health Insurance For All

A Better Healthcare Package

Taking Children For Medical Treatment Will Not Require You To Sell Your Produce Before The Harvest

Protection from Sexual And Physical Violence

An End To Child Marriage

A Review of Special Interest Groups Leadership And Representation

Security Of Ownership of Land And Property

Affordable And Convenient Agriculture Finance

Enhanced Food Security

A Shift From Being The Beast Of Burden To Having Some Time For Leisure As A Result Of Reduced Work
Load
For The Children:

Improved Healthcare

Children With Special Needs Will Find Solace In User-Friendly School Facilities And Will Be Able To Realise

Their Full Potential

Gradual Introduction Of The Nursery Section In Government Primary Schools

Good Quality Education For All

Will Have Enough Food And Grow At Desirable Rates

10

For Farmers:

The Return of Cooperatives

We Will Establish The Uganda Seed Company To Guarantee Availability Of Quality Seed And Other
Agro-Inputs

Availability Of Quality Breeding Stocks

Post-Harvest Handling Made Easy With 1 Silos For Storage At Sub-County

A Warehouse Receipting System

An Agricultural Commodities Exchange

Price Stability

New Markets for Your Crop

A Community Bank To Finance Your Needs

Availability Of Water For Production
For Veterans:

You Will Receive Your Pensions

Gratuity Arrears For All Our Veterans Including Civilian Veterans Who Supported Our Liberation Struggle

Introduction Of A National Veterans Day

The Village Community Bank At The Sub-County

Senior Citizens:

Free Health Insurance For All Citizens Above 65 Years

Everyone Who Retires From Government Service Will Automatically And Instantaneously Join The Pension
Payroll

Guarantee that Gratuities Will Be Received Within One Month Of Retirement

A The Monthly Grant For Senior Citizens In Uganda
Business Community:

A Reduced Rate Of V.A.T From 18% To 16%

VAT Exemption On Commercial Electricity Tariff

Economic Empowerment Of Households Leading To More Consumers

More Opportunities

More Electricity at Lower Prices
For Artists:

Enforcement Of The Copyright And Intellectual Property Rights Law

Redesigned And Upgraded National Museum And National Theatre To International Standards
Sports



Fraternity:
All Ex-International Sports Personalities To Receive A Pension
Better Facilitation To Our Sports Men And Ladies On International Duty
Rejuvenation Of Community Sports Facilities At Sub-County Level
Development Of Sports Centres Of Excellence And Regional Stadiums

The Armed Forces:



Housing Units Will Be Constructed For Our Gallant Men And Women To Ensure Decent Accommodation

Wages For Our Armed Forces, Police, Prisons And The Army Will Be Enhanced

Armed Forces Will Be Properly Equipped
The Community:

Better Community Hygiene, Roads, And Environment Through Bulungi Bwansi

Safer Communities With You In Charge

Clean Environment With More Trees

Peaceful Co-Existence Of Various Tribes

Increased Coherence Among Community Members

Decent Accommodation For All Community Members

Secure Land Ownership
People In The Diaspora

Ability To Vote From Ugandas Missions And Embassies Abroad

Equal Treatment With Resident Nationals (No Visas)

Can Own Freehold or Mailo Land

A Diaspora Service Division At All Embassies

11

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

Reviving Good
Governance,
Democracy and
Rebuilding Our
Institutions

12

13

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

1: Good Governance
Good governance refers to a set of guiding principles that governments follow in the
process of making and implementing decisions. These include Rule of Law, A Corruptionfree Government, Transparency and Accountability, among others. Such principles help
to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities, receive the best possible services and
have an expectation of fair application of the law.

OUR TODAY
There is endemic bad governance that must be
eradicated.
Law and order as well as constitutionalism have
broken down.
There is impunity and abuse of human rights.
Constant failure of development programmes
as well as outright theft of public resources is a
rampant form of corruption in Uganda.
Wasteful and arbitrary expenditure of public
resources.
Institutions, social network systems and social
values have disintegrated. Our democratic
practices are being eroded and law and policy
making has become arbitrary.
We have large and unaccountable bureaucracies.
There is extreme poverty, humiliation and
degradation of Ugandans.
Our people suffer from despondency, fear,
intimidation, apathy and resignation; feeling
helpless to change things in many instances.

THE REALITY
Youth are legally barred
The 1995 Constitution of Uganda and 1997 Local
Government Act as amended legally prohibits
any person aged 18 and above but below 30 from
qualifying to contest (vie) as a chairperson or be
appointed deputy chairperson in a total of 1459
positions as follows:
111 districts excluding Lord Mayor of

Kampala City Council Authority,
27 municipalities and city divisions,
295 towns and municipal divisions,
and
1026 Sub Counties as of the year
2014

Women are being left out


Whereas in the 2011 election, a total of 444 women were nominated to contest for 112 vacant District Woman
Member of Parliament (MP) positions under Special Interest Group Category, the total number of women that
were nominated to contest for a total of 9,433 vacant directly elective (main stream) positions with men was a
disappointing 313.
The worst representations of women in directly elective positions were at sub county, town, and municipal division
councillors level. At this level, no restrictive conditions to qualify exist but only 137 females were nominated to vie
for 7,332 vacant positions countrywide. This means that only 0.98% of the total number of nominated candidates
were women.
This is disappointing evidence of the need for meaningful empowerment of women. Even with the existing laws to
empower them, this group (more than 50% of Ugandans) is not being represented effectively.

REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS

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OUR FUTURE:
Ugandans can be a people proud of their heritage and
citizenship, who are hopeful and expect to succeed
at whatever they choose to do. The government
will be service-oriented, small, economical and wellorganised. We shall prioritise meaningful and inclusive
participation of youth, women and minorities in the
political and development process as a right.
Like other countries, peaceful transitions will be the
norm and Ugandans will be able to freely choose a new
President every five years. Our guiding principles will
be the tenets of good governance.

OUR PROMISE:
Our government will offer the following:
We will stop wastage of public resources and instead
aim to invest resources in people on an equitable
basis.
We shall amend the Leadership Code to include
empowering the Inspector General of Government
to access financial records of all public officers,
compare them to the declarations submitted and
publish an annual report. Furthermore, all public
servants shall be required to not only declare their
assets but also their sources of income.
We will institute and nurture a national value system
that can be identified with by all people of Uganda
irrespective of tribe and social status.
We shall begin to build a culture of honesty and
integrity that moves people away from asking
for brides and also to outrightly reject unsolicited
kickbacks. More people must be encouraged to

blow the whistle and to isolate the corrupt.


Put in place measures to counter corruption by
introducing accountability through a free press,
greater transparency and easier access to information
on public sector borrowing by civil society and other
interested parties.
Conduct mass sensitisation and awareness on the
effects of corruption on the population in order to
recruit a critical mass of citizens determined to uproot
corruption from Uganda.
Work with civil society to enhance greater
understanding of social contracts amongst the
citizenry thereby empowering them to question,
challenge and hold elected and appointed leaders to
account.
Institute social accountability platforms at sub-county
levels where the rights holders interface with the
duty bearers (both government and private sector)
to discuss issues of concern and to wage rigorous
campaigns against corruption.
Enhance partnerships with media, civil society and
the entire citizenry to report corruption cases while
ensuring sufficient protection for the whistle blowers.
Put in place stringent measures to ensure stolen
money is recovered. These include freezing and
liquidating the assets of all those found guilty in order
to retrieve as much of the stolen funds as possible.

The Question of Federal, Federo or Regional Tier


We shall respect the desires of communities when it comes
to their choice of governance and help them realize those
dreams.

REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE,


DEMOCRACY
AND
REBUILDING
OUR INSTITUTIONS
REVIVING
GOOD GOVERNANCE,
DEMOCRACY
AND REBUILDING
OUR INSTITUTIONS

15

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

2: Transparency & Accountability


- Fighting Corruption

OUR TODAY
A high percentage of public funds is lost due
to corruption.
Major weaknesses in reporting expenditure in
government agencies.
Long delays in releasing money.
An ineffective budgeting process; it is
incremental, does not aim to reduce
expenditure and is not results oriented.
A lot of money is concentrated in a few
expenditure centres and is wasted.
Decentralization happens in name only.

OUR FUTURE:
In the future, we shall have a corrupt-free society
where the governments priority setting must aim for
equitable and people-oriented service delivery; one
where public resources are not wasted and are used
for the purpose for which they are intended. There will
be better communication between government and
citizens about the funds spent by ensuring full disclosure
of budgets, planned services and expenditures by
different departments.

OUR PROMISE:
We will stop wastage of public resources and instead
aim to invest resources in people on an equitable
basis.
We shall amend the Leadership Code to include
empowering the Inspector General of Government
to access financial records of all public officers,
compare them to the declarations submitted and
publish an annual report. Furthermore, all public
servants shall be required to not only declare their
assets but also their sources of income.
We will institute and nurture a national value system
that can be identified with by all people of Uganda
irrespective of tribe and social status.

We shall begin to build a culture of honesty and


integrity that moves people away from asking for
brides and also to outrightly reject unsolicited
kickbacks. More people must be encouraged to blow
the whistle and to isolate the corrupt.
Put in place measures to counter corruption by
introducing accountability through a free press,
greater transparency and easier access to information
on public sector borrowing by civil society and other
interested parties.
Conduct mass sensitisation and awareness on the
effects of corruption on the population in order to
recruit a critical mass of citizens determined to uproot
corruption from Uganda.
Work with civil society to enhance greater
understanding of social contracts amongst the
citizenry thereby empowering them to question,
challenge and hold elected and appointed leaders to
account.
Institute social accountability platforms at sub-county
levels where the rights holders interface with the
duty bearers (both government and private sector)
to discuss issues of concern and to wage rigorous
campaigns against corruption.
Enhance partnerships with media, civil society and
the entire citizenry to report corruption cases while
ensuring sufficient protection for the whistle blowers.
Put in place stringent measures to ensure stolen
money is recovered. These include freezing and
liquidating the assets of all those found guilty in order
to retrieve as much of the stolen funds as possible.

The Cost of Corruption






Low government resources and tax revenues


Slow economic growth
Stagnant socio-economic development
Bad governance
Unequal distribution of political power

REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS

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Rewarding the Whistleblower


The Principles of Qui Tam
Our government will strengthen the law that protects whistleblowers the Uganda Whistleblowers Protection
Act 2010 - in a bid to encourage citizens to report cases of fraudulent conduct by both government agencies
and private companies. Furthermore, our government will ensure that when a whistleblower reports a case,
the receiving agency/company follows it up to a logical conclusion instead of ignoring the reported fraud.
We shall also legislate allowing Qui Tam lawsuits. Qui tam refers to a case where a private individual sues
another (it can be a government agency, a private company or an individual) on behalf of the Government
of Uganda. This happens when the individual believes that a fraud has been committed and can prove it. It
is a way for private people with information to help the government fight corruption.
We will amend Article 120(3)(c) and (d) of the Constitution so that the powers of the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) to take over and discontinue cases is limited. This will allow citizens to make the
government and all its officials more accountable. Successful qui tam suit initiators will receive up to 25%
of recovered funds as a reward.

REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY


AND
REBUILDING
OUR INSTITUTIONS
REVIVING
GOOD
GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY
AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS

17

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

3: Rule of Law and


Constitutionalism
Rule of Law: government by law and not by the arbitrary
feelings and decisions of powerful individuals.

OUR TODAY
The Constitution is violated with impunity.
Justice is dispensed unfairly and in many
cases the offenders escape . Our judiciary is
understaffed and underpaid. The backlog in
court cases is hindering the dispensation of
justice.
Many times there is a disparity between those
who have money and those without when it
comes to serving jail sentences. Petty thieves
are more likely to go to jail than white-collar
criminals who embezzle funds. Even when a
criminal is sentenced, he/she is able to get an
early release based on health reasons when
he/she is wealthy.
Laws are frequently enacted at the whims of
individuals. A good example are the electoral
laws. There is a selective process as to which
reforms are made. This in itself is unjust and
unconstitutional.
The role of Police has shifted from protector
of civil rights and instead the institution
has become partisan and militarized. Police
stations are dilapidated and old fashioned.
Police officers are underpaid, live in miserable
conditions and their welfare has deteriorated to
unacceptable levels.
There is impunity of government officers while
exercising their powers and implementing
lawful orders. Investigative agencies have failed
to arrest the culprits who embezzle funds.
Many of the would-be guilty parties are never
fully prosecuted.

OUR FUTURE:
There shall be promotion and protection of the
Constitution, equality of all persons before the law
where segregation based on social status shall cease
to exist. Uganda must have an effective and efficient
judicial system where cases are heard and judged
within a reasonable time to ensure that Ugandans
are not held in prisons unlawfully. We shall ensure
enforcement and compliance.

OUR PROMISE:
We commit to restoring Presidential Term
Limits in the Constitution and entrenching the
article in such a way that it will not be easy
to remove them again in the future. We will
restore the dignity of the Judiciary, judicial
officers and officers of court. Our government
will uphold the rule of law and not rule by law.
We propose to do the following:
A judicial system reform will be conducted,
the objective of which will be to speed up the
dispensation of justice as well as reviewing fines and
prison terms.
We will implement the Judicial Code of Conduct
to enable the judiciary to weed out those who ask
for and take bribes in order to avert the course of
justice.
The Judiciary will be fully staffed to enable them
handle the large backlog of cases.
A salary review for the judiciary is long overdue. We
undertake to do this with the intention of ensuring
that all salaries and benefits to judges are fair and
take into account the current economic situation.
We are committed to reforming the current electoral
laws and reorganizing the Electoral Commission to
make it truly independent.
A commission shall also look at our current
Constitution in order to review obnoxious laws
such as the vagrancy laws, among others. It will
also examine how to reduce presidential powers
by vesting some of them in other officers. Other
reforms will also be considered as contained in the
Citizens Compact.
We commit to infrastructure development where we
will build more courts with offices for prosecutors
and judges as well as expand courts in major towns
to house more magistrates.
Invest in technology to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of court processes. Such technology
includes electronic filing of court records, a
document management system and a scheduling
system among others; all forming an information
management system.

UGX 20 bn will be allocated towards Infrastructure Development and Recruitment in the Judiciary.
REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS

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Armed Forces

Human Rights

What we will do:


Re-orient the Police towards civil rights protection
through training and civic education.
Our Police will be fully integrated into our society
in different ways in order to demilitarize them.
Review and improve their welfare including
salaries and housing for the families for our men and
women in uniform.
Strengthen the element of correctional systems
and rehabilitation in the prison system and support
Uganda Prisons in their efforts to improve the
prospects of prisoners through education and skills
development.

Our Pledge to the People of Uganda


We shall adopt a broad and liberal policy towards
the observation and protection of human rights
and ensure that all the instruments of government
including the police, intelligence services and all
service providers uphold the interests of all groups
in society particularly marginalized minorities, the
vulnerable and the disenfranchised.

REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS

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OUR MANIFESTO 2016

5: Public Sector
Management
& Administration
OUR TODAY
There is a breakdown of public
institutions.
There is poor remuneration in the
Public Service sector.
We have a bloated Local Government
Structure.
There is duplication of roles and
responsibilities amongst Ministries,
Departments and Agencies.

Great inefficiency in our Public
Administration budgets especially
for central government spending
agencies.
Skewed and unfair salary scales for
different positions in government that
cause a disparity.

OUR PROMISE:
Many changes are needed in the Public Service sector.
The first is to re-organize public administration in
terms of roles and responsibilities.
Restructure salary scales between traditional
civil servants and contract employees such as
project staff, parastatal employees, commissions
employees and authorities employees with a view
of harmonizing them.
We will establish a Salaries Commission to review
all wages, salaries and allowances of Public Service
workers in order to achieve balance and fairness,
which in turn will motivate all workers.

OUR FUTURE:
Uganda must strive to have an efficient and functional
civil service in which Ministries, Departments and
Agencies deliver services efficiently, within specific
timeframes and on budget. Not only should our Public
Sector be well structured, it must also be motivated
to work and to shift from being output-oriented to
outcome-oriented. There must be equal opportunity
for all when joining and working in government
service and all promotion opportunities are given on
merit. There must be equity in remuneration based on
objective criteria.

REVIVING GOOD GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY AND REBUILDING OUR INSTITUTIONS

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Transforming
Our Economy

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OUR MANIFESTO 2016

1: Agriculture How to
Grow Out of Poverty
OUR TODAY
The Agriculture Sector is allocated a
meager 3% of the national budget.
In rural areas our people practice rain-fed
subsistence farming which is inadequate to
guarantee food security.
Our farmers still practice rudimentary
farming methods using outdated tools and
equipment.
Most of the cooperatives no longer exist.
We have a thin, poorly staffed and financed
agricultural extension system.
Agriculture contributes less than 25% of
GDP yet uses 82% of our labour force.
95% of our farmers are working for their
families and getting no pay.
Our farmers suffer post harvest losses of up
to 40%.
Agricultural research and development is
poorly funded.
Only 8% of our farmers use fertilizers yet
we have low yields.

OUR FUTURE:
We must become a food, seed and breed secure nation
with a natural storage capacity of 10 million tonnes of
grains, pulses and other commodities. Our professional
agricultural extension workers must be empowered to
perform their duties with regards to providing pertinent
information. In the future, we will have large functioning
cooperatives with branches all the way to village level
and our farmers will use modern farming practices.
Our yields will be high, our produce of the best quality
and storage facilities will ensure minimum post-harvest
losses as well as ensure farmers have a choice in terms
of the prices at which they sell their goods.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

OUR PROMISE:
Increase the budgetary allocation for Agriculture
from the current 3% to 10% within 5 years as required
by the Maputo Declaration.
Re-establish co-operatives all over the country.
Secure markets for traditional cash crops as well as
encourage non-traditional cash crops farming.
Re-establish a national seed company to provide
quality seed for various crop types.
Re-organise the Agricultural Extension System run by
Agriculture professionals.
Increase support to Research and Development.
Enforce and promote the adherence to agricultural
product standards.
Strengthen the capacity of Uganda National Bureau
of Standards to effectively monitor and enforce the
standardization of agricultural inputs and outputs.
Provide favourable agriculture financing tied to
production of cash crops.
Our government will make agricultural inputs more
affordable and accessible.
Support cattle farmer cooperatives in improving
market construction, slaughter slabs, sheds
and rehabilitate key milk collection centers. A
computerized information management system will
be installed to track the movement of animals sold
and meat in order to better position our products for
export.
Promote irrigation through a framework for the
supply, utilization and management of water for
agricultural production including water harvesting.
Establish a food storage system to ensure that there
are enough food reserves to combat hunger in times
of drought and/or famine.

22

Our government also will do the following:

Warehouse Receipting with Storage Silos


The foundation of our Sub-County Advancement
Model is premised on a warehouse receipting system,
which will enable members in Sub-County level farmer
cooperatives to deposit storable harvested products
in exchange for a warehouse receipt. A warehouse
receipt will always be issued by cooperative agents
managing storage silos as evidence that specific
commodities of a stated quantity and quality have
been deposited at a particular location within the SubCounty. Usually prices slump right after harvesting
time and pick up towards planting time. By deciding
to sell the goods at a later time, when prices have
picked up, the depositor (a farmer) will have avoided
price risk.

Post-harvest Handling Losses


Estimates from on-farm surveys show that on average
40% of all food crops and other crops such as coffee
produced is lost or wasted. To minimize post-harvest
losses of grain, our Sub-County warehouse receipting
system will apply modern post-harvest handling
services under the various farmer cooperatives
framework. By preventing smallholder farmers from
losing large portions of their crops after harvest,
farmers will increase their income and increase the
availability of food in the whole country.

Skills Development for Farmers


Every Sub-County will have at least 2 agricultural
extension officers, one veterinary doctor and a
fisheries officer where fisheries resources exist. Every
Sub-County will maintain demonstration plots of
not less than 10 acres of land in total, working with
farmer field schools to learn best practices as well as
farming as a business. Farmers will be encouraged to
volunteer land and those who do will receive 50% of
the harvest. There will be improved animal breeds and
a fish pond maintained by our agricultural extension

technical team for farmer education and demonstration.


To enhance farmer education and adoption of best
practices, district farm institutes will be rejuvenated to
support extension work at the Sub-County.

Mechanisation of Agriculture
We will establish a framework and infrastructure to apply
mechanisation such as the use of tractors, planters,
produce sorters, fertiliser spreaders, small and large scale
irrigation systems, harvesters, hay makers and milking
processing equipment to increase farm productivity.

Conservation and Boosting Our


Fisheries Resources
The fisheries sub-sector directly employs about one
million of our work force and was until recently the third
largest export earner. Unfortunately, fish stocks in our
numerous fresh water lakes and rivers have declined at
a fast and unsustainable rate as a result of the combined
effect of unregulated human activity, the use of
inappropriate equipment and bad fishing practices. The
sub-sector is poorly organized and access by fishermen
to available financial resources is limited.
A fisheries cooperative will be registered at all sub
counties that have fishing communities in the whole
country in order to be organized for access to better
fishing gear, handling and group marketing. They too will
benefit from access to credit and agriculture finance at
the Sub-County when registered and organized.
We shall explore the restocking of our lakes and
commit a special budget to procure feed for fish. The
private sector will be encouraged to take up fish cage
farming on a large scale in our lakes.
For farmer education on fish farming, there shall be
a fish demonstration farm in all relevant sub-counties.
The district fisheries office must, with support from the
relevant ministry, take up that task.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

23

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

ADVANCED SUB-COUNTY MODEL (ASM)


THE CRUX OF OUR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Our objective is to strengthen the interface between government and citizens to ensure that all homes
and institutions at the level of each of the 1388 sub-counties are able to be involved in their own development
programmes.
Our program shall support the creation and functioning of a sub-county complex housing the following:
At least 1 Farmers Cooperative Society based on a major agricultural crop, animals or fisheries
At least 1 silo for storage of agricultural produce belonging to members of the Farmers Cooperative Society
A community bank
A well-equipped, stocked and staffed health insurance facility
A Cooperative Society for teachers within that particular sub-county
A Transporters (boda boda and taxi operators) Savings and Loans Association
A Womens Savings and Loans Association
A computerised Community Information Management System
A community centre with at least 10 computers, library and reading area with free Wi Fi internet access
A Sports facility
A Registration Office for Births, Deaths and Marriages
A Music, dance and creative arts club
A Police post
A stage and parking area for Buses, Taxis and Boda bodas

The construction of the sub-county complexes will be done in a phased manner ensuring that
all regions receive equal treatment.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

24

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

25

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

An Agricultural Commodity Exchange.


Our government will set up a Commodities Exchange where our
cash crops and other agricultural products will be traded. This
is a market where farmers can sell their produce at fair prices
because the information about the current prices is always
available. It is an open system that encourages transparency
and enables the farmer to participate in a fairer negotiation
with the purchaser. There will be futures contracts that will
help guarantee prices thereby offering those who participate
protection from fluctuations among other advantages.
The infrastructure that government will set up at the subcounty will benefit farmers, traders and prospective buyers
from within Uganda and abroad when we establish a modern
Commodities Exchange.
The Commodities Exchange will create opportunities for
unparalleled growth in the commodity sub-sector and related
industries, such as transport and logistics, banking, insurance
and ICT services.
The Commodity Exchange will support all commodity market
players to have the security they need in the market through
providing a secure and reliable end-to-end system for handling,
grading, and storing commodities. It will match offers and
bids for commodity transactions, provide a risk-free payment
system and a reliable goods delivery system for transactions.
It will also reduce the high costs and risks of transacting in
commodities today and make agri-business fair and efficient.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

26

2: Energy
OUR TODAY

OUR FUTURE:

Uganda is one of the most electricity poor countries


in the world. The electricity consumption in our
country in 2013 was as low as 215 Kwh per capita
per annum. The Sub-Saharan average for the same
period was 552 Kwh per capita per annum while the
global average stood at 12,975 Kwh.

In order to promote our socio-economic growth for


both domestic and industrial consumption, the power
sector has to be efficient and provide adequate, reliable
and low-cost power. Access to electricity should cover
the entire country. Our per capita energy will rise to
be at par with the rest of Africa or be even higher. This
will mean more industry and a lot more households with
electricity.

Literally, if every Ugandan was to light a 100 watt bulb


constantly, we would have electricity to last us only
89 days in a whole year. Given our rapidly growing
population, to reach the per capita consumption level
of our peers in Sub-Saharan Africa we would need
to triple our current consumption. Unfortunately, we
are not able to do it.
The electricity supply available is also priced highly
both in absolute terms and when compared to
similar power tariffs in relation to the standard of
living in the country. If we increased the amount of
electricity available at our current prices, the uptake
would remain low since not many more people can
afford it.
The Uganda Energy sector is predominantly
dependent on firewood and charcoal (wood fuel).
Approximately 92% of household energy use is
provided by wood fuel. The other major sources of
energy are refined petroleum products at 6% and
electricity meeting just 1.5% of the primary energy
requirements. It is estimated that up to 67% of rural
households use a tadoba (a small open flame
kerosene lamp) as their primary and often only
source of lighting.
Uganda has considerable renewable energy
resources including hydropower potential (over
2000 MW), solar power and biomass residues from
agricultural production. Unfortunately, we have not
fully committed to investing in the right technologies
that would maximize renewable energy generation.
This has put more pressure on the demand for wood
fuel especially as the population grows.

OUR PROMISE:
To increase accessibility to electricity to 40% of the
population within 2 years and 60% by 2021.
Increase the power supply by 3,500 MW in the
next 5 years by continuing to build the planned
hydropower dams, initiating new renewable energy
projects and by signing new bilateral agreements
for the supply of electricity with the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.
Promote the use of Renewable Energy especially
solar power, biomass and hydropower.
Our government will work to reduce the cost of
electricity per unit consumed.
Using a unique home based grid-tie solar system
(proposed 5 panel system), every connected home
will save on average UGX 960,000/= per year.
Our proposed Grid-tied solar system will help
increase our power supply per capita while
making power more economical in the long run for
consumers.
This innovation is unique for two reasons;
i) It is a revenue source that helps your family or
household to reduce expenses and instead save
money to spend on other essentials such as
school fees or health insurance premiums.
ii) Being a clean energy source, this initiative
qualifies Uganda for carbon tax credits from
industrial countries.
We will zero rate (exempt) Value Added Tax on
medium and large commercial electricity consumers.
We shall scrap taxes imposed on electricity used for
production.
We will extend our electricity distribution network
to all the 1,388 sub-counties. A solar electricity
support system will immediately be installed at
those sub-counties that will not have been served
by the national electricity distribution network.
TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

27

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

Residential Grid-Tied Solar Power


Our proposed Grid-tie solar system enables a home
or building to generate solar power, use what it needs
and load its excess output directly to the utility grid.

The life expectancy of a grid-tied solar system is 20


years. Maintenance cost is low and is limited mostly
to cleaning the panels periodically.
The goal of our government is to get Uganda started
on an energy transformation where each citizen can
participate, if he/she wishes, in producing power.

The grid-tied solar system has three major


components:
1. The solar panels: (the solar generator)
2. The grid tied inverter: (The DC to AC converter)
as well wiring accessories.
3. The meter

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

28

Oil & Minerals


Article 244 of the Constitution of Uganda vests
ownership and control of minerals and petroleum
in the Government of Uganda on behalf of its
people.
Over 20 oil and gas discoveries have been made
to date. Companies that are already licensed
to explore, develop and produce petroleum are
Total E&P Uganda BV, Tullow Uganda Operations
Pty Ltd., Tullow Uganda Ltd., and China National
Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Uganda Ltd.
Oil and gas resources are projected to last 20-30
years at a peak production of 200,000 barrels
of oil per day. Production is set to begin in
2017/2018 after the necessary infrastructure of
roads, water and electricity is put in place.
Uganda is endowed with mineral wealth.
Our government commits to promoting the
extraction and processing of our minerals for the
benefit of all miners, the communities in whose
land the minerals occur and the economy in
general. We will fast track the establishment of
new mines and revamp existing ones.

OUR PROMISE:
In all 25 districts in which oil and gas resources are
located, the local communities shall benefit from a
revenue sharing program.
We will build the required infrastructure including a
cement plant, the planned Kampala-Kigali Pipeline,
the Eldoret-Kampala Pipeline and refurbish old
storage tanks/build new ones to ensure we have oil
reserves when there is a crisis.
Our main goal is to refine enough oil here in
Uganda to ensure that we do not import petroleum
products and that products like Liquid Petroleum
Gas (LPG), jet fuel, diesel, heavy fuel oil and other
by products are available.
We shall encourage the establishment of new
industries from petroleum products such as asphalt
and tar, lubricating oils as well as insecticides and
fertilizer.
All communities affected by the land acquisition
for the refinery in Hoima will continue to be
compensated for loss of economic activities and
livelihoods on top of being paid the land rates at
the prevailing market prices.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

29

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

3: Jobs For All


Unemployed persons are those within the economically active population
who are willing but cannot find paid work to do.
KEY FACTS ON UNEMPLOYMENT IN UGANDA
Uganda is among the countries with the youngest
population and the highest youth unemployment
rate of 83%. According to statistics from the Ministry
of Gender around 400,000 youth annually become
eligible to enter the job market.

What Are Some Of The Causes Of Unemployment


in Uganda?
Formal education is expensive
Skills mismatch
Geographical location of job seekers
Low levels of economic activity and low investment
Limited formal work experience
Lack of general and job-related skills
Slower Economic Growth
Poor health conditions
Discrimination

OUR TODAY
The Reality: 32,746 Government Jobs are Unoccupied (Financial Year 2013/2014)
Research revealed that more than 32,746 Public Service job slots were vacant in the various government
institutions as thousands of desperate unemployed Ugandans continue to search for the few available
jobs.
It further revealed that some departments had not filled vacant positions because of either corruption on
the part of the payroll managers or Ministry of Finances failure to provide the required funds to fill the
verified vacancies.
The vacancies are spread across dozens of different government departments and agencies, with some hit
harder than others. (Source: Annual Report of the Auditor General Financial Year ending June 2014 - Vol.2
A&B)
Below is a snapshot of the situation by end of financial year 2013/14

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

30

Institutions
Institution

Number
of Jobs
Available

Jobs
Occupied

Vacancies
(Unoccupied
Positions)

Notes

Makerere University

2,780

1,484

1,296

53.4% of the jobs are filled

Kyambogo University

1,550

830

720

University Staff (53.5% positions filled)

Kyambogo University

530

270

260

Academic Staff (51% positions filled)

Gender Ministry

609

276

333

Incl. Key Management Staff(45.3%


filled)

Mulago Hospital

1,477

1,290

187

Payroll showed 1,842 staff were paid in


June 2014 (87.34% positions filled)

Lands Ministry

839

343

496

40.9% of the positions are filled

KCCA

1332

395

937

296 vacancies but 641 employed on


temporary basis (29.7% positions
filled)

Commissions
An analysis of the Electoral Commission staffing levels showed a shortage of 26 staff countrywide with majority
shortages being among election officers (Assistant District Registrars).
Health Service Commission - out of the approved staff of 63 employees, only 51 positions are filled leaving 12
positions vacant.
Equal Opportunity Commissions had 12 out of 63 available positions filled.
Judicial Service Commission had 10 vacancies, and Parliamentary Commission 82 vacancies.

The Judiciary
For a long time, 297 posts within the Judiciary were vacant. These included among others 8 Justices of Court of
appeal, 4 Justices of the Supreme Court and 8 High Court Judges. Some have been filled but many more are not.

SAMPLE SURVEY ON THE NUMBER OF VACANT JOBS IN INSTITUTIONS


GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS

VACANT
POSITIONS

Moroto Regional Referral Hospital

233

Hoima Regional Referral Hospital

192

Mulago Regional Referral Hospital

187

Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital


Kabale Regional Referral Hospital

111
123

Butabika Hospital

87

Soroti Regional Referral Hospital

85

Arua Regional Referral Hospital

53

Mbale Regional Referral Hospital

183

Mbale Regional Referral Hospital (PDU)

Jinja Regional Referral Hospital


Total

47
1303

GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES AND DEPARTMENTS


Ministry of Tourism

43

Min of Internal Affairs

35

Ministry of ICT

17

Uganda Institute of ICT

32

Directorate of Public Prosecutions

31

Uganda National Roads Authority

98

Parliamentary Commission

80

Nyabyeya Forestry College

87

MTAC

36

Uganda Management Institute

37

Uganda Aids Commission

28

Electoral Commission

26

Min of Ethics and Integrity

14

Health Service Commission

12

Works: Kireka Division

25

Works: East African Civil Aviation

22

Uganda Blood Transfusion Service

16

Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture

11

Department of Crop Protection

10

Ministry of Justice

10

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

31

OUR MANIFESTO 2016


GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS

Judicial Service Commission


Uganda Road Fund
Total

VACANT
POSITIONS

10
9
689

AUTHORITIES
Uganda National Bureau of Standards

231

Information Technology Authority

156

Nyabyeya Forestry College

87

National Planning Authority

49

Animal Genetic Resource Centre

47

Retirements Benefits Authority

39

Uganda Wildlife Education Centre

28

Uganda Investment Authority

26

Atomic Energy Council

21

Electricity Regulatory Authority

OUR PROMISE:
A total of 444,160 new jobs will be created at the SubCounty level throughout the whole country; that is about
the size of the current entire Civil Service in Uganda.
Under this arrangement, new jobs will be available to
health care workers to support the insurance for all health
care schemes, the community bank to support agriculture
and local economic development initiatives, silos and
warehouse receipting, a one-stop center for business,
tax and personal registration, community development
center, value addition industries, agricultural extension and
ultimately, construction of public buildings including staff
houses for teachers and other workers.
Below is a brief estimate by category:
1 Sub
County

1388 Sub
Counties

Health Insurance

12

16,656

18

Community Bank

12,492

National Council for Higher Education

17

Warehouse receipting

12

16,656

Uganda Tourism Board

14

One stop registration center

8,328

6,940

Medical and Dental Practitioners Council

Community development

Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners

Volunteer Graduate program

22

30,536

National Youth Council

Value addition industries

50

69,400

National Council of Sports

Agricultural Extension

5,552

National Council for Disability

Construction

200

277,600

National Women Council

Total Jobs

320

444,160

Medical and Dental Practitioners Council

Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners

National Youth Council

National Council of Sports

National Council for Disability

National Women Council

Kanoni Town Council


Total

10
767

DISTRICT NUMBER OF JOBS*


Namayingo

323

Sheema

891

Buikwe Town Council


Kasese
Kanoni Town Council
Kiboga

27
1068
10
289

Kibuku Town Council

42

Tororo

29

Buvuma

203

Total

2882

GRAND TOTAL

5641

* Local Government: The number of approved jobs are


55,310 in total. The number of occupied posts are 36,679.
The 18,631 vacancies represent 33% of the workforce of
Local Government.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

Our new focus on the Sub-County requires a quick change


of attitude towards doing things differently, flexibility in
applying new systems, procedures and standards.

We shall institute a review on the ban on


recruitment by Ministry of Public Service
and commit to re-organise government
priorities in order to finance the full wage
bill and to fill all vacant positions in Public
Service.

32

New Initiatives
The Volunteer Graduate program, that will engage all
fresh graduates who wish to join, will support this unique
transformative program.
Our Government will establish the Uganda National
Seed Corporation to supply, regulate and standardize
seed in Uganda. We expect through the seed chain from
production of foundation seed to actual seed production,
marketing and distribution to have created over 5,000
new technical jobs.
To guarantee competitive prices and market for
agricultural products, Government will establish the The
Agricultural Commodities Exchange (Public) Company.
This will link the owner of produce (cooperatives) and
the buyers including importers abroad. This company
will create more than 1500 new jobs.
The Residential Solar Grid-Tied System will require
the installation and maintenance of solar panels for about
180,000 homes. This will create about 2000 new jobs
from the procurement of the panels to their maintenance.
By lowering taxes (exempting all businesses from
paying VAT on their electricity used as well as the lowering
of the VAT rate from 18% to 16%), our government will
be encouraging more industries to be set up and more
sales and profits. On account of this new measure alone,
thousands of new jobs will be created.

PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS


Most importantly, our proposed set-up will empower the
community to attract more of such services as transport,
finance, hotels and restaurants, insurance, energy,
telecommunications, ICT, education, leisure centres and
increased demand of processed products. This, in effect,
will create a higher demand for workers to deliver goods
and services to all corners of the country and ultimately
attract opportunities for investors both local and foreign.
We expect, in the next 5 years, such opportunities to have
created between 500,000-1,000,000 jobs in the Private
Sector. We also expect that within 3 years, we will have
created 3.5 million new jobs from the new initiatives.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

33

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

4: Industry
If you ask an economist what drives economic growth, its been major
advances in things that mattered: the mechanisation of farming, mass
manufacturing, things like that. Larry Page, Co-Founder of Google

OUR TODAY

Limited
presence
of
manufactured
Ugandan products in the export basket
leading to Ugandas limited capacity to
compete in global markets.
Where industries exist, capacity utilisation
averages 50 percent of the installed
capacity.
The share of industry (manufacturing
sector) of Ugandas Gross Domestic
Product is 7% - below the average of 11
percent for least developed countries
(UNCTAD 2008).
The high technology industry is at the
bottom of the 24 market determined
priorities, while emphasis is on crop
processing;
processing
of
forestry
products and fish processing all of which
are characterized by low value-adding
activities.
More than 50 percent of the manufacturing
firms are owned by non-Ugandans and
joint ventures account are a very small
percentage.
Land near reliable power sources and
transport market linkages for setting
up Industries and manufacturing plants is
prohibitively expensive to acquire.

There are high bureaucracies and
unacceptable delays in setting up new
industries and businesses.
High cost of electricity and transport for
competitive industrialisation.
Inadequate ICT infrastructure to support
globally
competitive
manufacturing
sector.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

OUR FUTURE:
An industrialised economy creating jobs for skilled labour
and accelerating share of competitive goods Made in
Uganda in Global Markets.
Successful Special Economic and Export Processing Zones
offering equal opportunity to small, medium and large
scale industries on planned, clustered and serviced land
with reliable quality infrastructure.
Industrial capacity utilisation of more than 90 percent.
Contribution of the manufacturing sector to the GDP of
more than 20 percent.
The high technology industry among the first ten market
determined priorities.
Large scale manufacturing firms accounting for at least 20
percent of the sector.

OUR PROMISE:
Formulate a policy that ensures successful Special
Economic and Export Processing Zones are built to
contribute significantly to the Middle Income development
objectives of the nation.
Gazette the Export Processing Zones as customs area
where goods on entry are exempted from all import
duties and taxes and appropriate taxations effected when
finished products are exiting the zones
Support regional towns to establish Common User
facilities to increase access to affordable machinery and
plants for low capital smallholder craftsmen and women
in carpentry and joinery, metal work and fabrication,
welding and joinery.
Attract, incentivise and guarantee increased Domestic
Private Sector Investment and Foreign Direct Investment
(FDIs through Angel Investments, Joint Ventures and
Crowd-funding.
Designate four regional areas as Special Economic and
Export Processing Zones with reliable serviced public
infrastructure required to meet favourable economic
rate of returns. The infrastructure shall include; Utilities
such as water, power, sanitation and ICT Infrastructure,
Warehouse facilities, Sales office spaces, roads to main
roads and within the zone.
Remove the impediments to the low capacity utilisation of
industries.
Conduct aggressive marketing of our products through
the Ugandan Embassies.
Review the Industrial Policy Framework to ensure
that shaping the structure and patterns of industrial
development is not left in the hands of the private sector
alone.
Value addition: where there is, in each district, not merely
the existence of an industry but the capacity to process
something from raw form into a finished, packaged good
ready for the market. An example would be Pader, in Acholi
and Aleptong, in Lango, where a shea nut cannot only be
processed but packaged as a cosmetic or pharmaceutical
product ready for consumption.

34

5: Roads and Transport

OUR TODAY
The Government has invested heavily in road
construction using both local and external
financing sources. For 7 years, the roads
sector has consistently received the highest
share of the Government Budget.
According to the Roads Agency, Uganda
National Roads Authority, by the end of
Financial Year 2013/14, the proportion
of national paved roads in fair-to-good
condition had reached 80%. When all the
on-going road projects are complete, a
significant number of our highways will have
been paved.
Most urban roads lack a provision for
pedestrians, people with disabilities and
cyclists.
We have a significant number of recorded
road accidents and carnages with very many
fatalities.
There is a weakness in implementation
of road safety regulations by the traffic
management authorities.
Corruption: both the questionable quality of
a lot of our roads, as well as the high cost of
building them are caused, in part, by corrupt
individuals who seek to make money out of
such government projects.
Our water transport is undeveloped.

OUR FUTURE:
A well-planned and developed road and water
transport network capable of accommodating
increasing traffic as both the economy and population
continue to expand.

OUR PROMISE:
Government will undertake a comprehensive
infrastructure development master plan to guide
the road and transport requirements into the
future. Where the population growth forecast or
economic activity is expected to grow very fast,
larger projects like super highways, underground
railway lines and flyovers may be undertaken as
guided by our infrastructure master plan.
In order to make proper use of the road infrastructure,
we shall seek to balance investment in roads with
agriculture and energy such that Ugandans can
produce massively, add value to their products and
use these roads to transport their output to the
market. We must make use of our roads by directly
supporting production as organized at the various
sub-counties.
We shall pave roads to first areas that produce
goods that require access to the market. All road
construction will be demand driven. That will make
it sustainable to repay loans acquired to construct
a significant number of kilometres over the years.
We will develop well-equipped water transport
networks on our lakes and rivers.

Uganda Airlines
It is our commitment to re-establish Uganda
Airlines or introduce a new national carrier.
We intend, through a combination of financing
modalities, to raise a sizable financing package
required for investment in undertaking a
complete certification process, leasing and/or
purchasing aircraft, recruitment, training and
remuneration of personnel and also paying for
gate space at various airports where the airline
will fly to. We shall market Ugandas tourism
and investment potential together with our new
national carrier.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

35

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

6: Clean and
Safe Water for all

OUR TODAY
Uganda has a water and sanitation crisis.
About 65% of Ugandans have access to safe
sources of water and over 8 million people
have no access at all.
Due to unplanned urban settling, residents
of high population density areas in Kampala
and beyond lack safe water supplies as well
as reasonable sanitation. In such areas,
toilets are very few and often inaccessible
at night and on rainy days. According to
statistics, Uganda lacks 700,000 toilets.
Over 75% of the population is affected by
the lack of sanitation.
The lack of sanitation facilities causes
recurrent epidemics of diseases such as
cholera and dysentery that claim the lives
of thousands of our children every year.
Where there is safe water, the supply is
irregular. Many times women must walk
hundreds of meters to find a source of free
clean water.

OUR FUTURE:
In future, all Ugandans will have access to clean and
safe water. The water sector will have adequate and
timely funding to enable it to grow along with our
population. Furthermore, 100% of our population will
have adequate sanitation.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

OUR PROMISE:
Within the next 5 years, all urban and rural areas
will have safe water supplies within 0.5km of their
residences.
We will fund National Water & Sewerage Corporation
to upgrade existing water stations and ensure reliable
water supply.
Sanitation promotion programmes will be intensified
with the goal of achieving 100% access in rural areas.
Our government will, as part of the Master plan for
Rural and Urban Water Development, embark on
providing safe drinking water.
Hygiene issues such as hand washing and toilet
construction will be implemented through Health
Inspectors at Sub-County level.
Our government will build 200,000 toilets in
conjunction with citizens and development partners
to provide all Ugandans with functioning sanitation
facilities and ensure that all Ugandans without toilets
are provided with an affordable and easy-to-build
model.
Introduce and support national water harvesting
programs for both domestic and agricultural use.

36

7: Our Environment
OUR TODAY
Environment and natural resources in Uganda
are under threat from poverty, rapid population
growth, unplanned urbanisation, expansion of
informal settlements, industrialisation and the
impacts of climate change.
This sub-sector faces a number of challenges
that include:
limited prospects of long-term investments
in both physical eco-systems protection and
institutional capacity development.
low level of awareness and appreciation of
the critical linkages between environment
and development.
increasing demand for natural resources.
limited strategic data and information for
planning.

OUR FUTURE:
Uganda will:
Be a country with the capacity to determine its
air and water quality by controlling pollution and
waste disposal.
Be a country that can mitigate the effects of
climate change based on local solutions.
Adhere to regional and international agreements
such as the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the
Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the EAC Climate Change
Policy.
Enforce adherence to environmental standards
by the private sector and all citizens.

OUR PROMISE:
The achievement of long-term sustainable economic
growth in the face of climate change is our primary
concern. The climate of Uganda is a valuable natural
resource and a major determinant of other natural
resources like soils, water, forests and wildlife, as well
as the human activities dependent on them. As such
we shall:
Empower National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA) with the resources required to
fully enforce the NEMA Act.

Invest
in
methodologies,
communication,
interpretation and use of scientific techniques
in decision-making and policy related to
environmental management.
Adopt and upscale tested and successful
technologies
for
improved
environmental
management.
Promote synergy between environmental related
research institutions and communities.
Ensure compliance and enforcement of proper
disposal of industrial waste.
Work out equitable bilateral carbon trade
arrangements with the signatories of the Kyoto
Protocol.
Encourage and provide incentives for use of clean
energy such as biogas and solar.
Promote on-farm forestry in industrial plantations,
on-farm trees and urban forestry to expand tree
coverage particularly for the high value, multipurpose trees that have the potential to increase
soil fertility, prevent soil erosion and be used as
animal feeds or for human consumption.
Mobilise communities and promote self-help
initiatives (through Bulungi Bwansi) that increase
tree cover in public places.
Put in place strategies for empowering citizens to
adapt to climate change that has already occurred
and is difficult to reverse.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

37

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

8: Tourism The Pearl of Africa

OUR TODAY
Uganda has been a leading tourist destination
but the industry has not grown as fast as it
could have. We received 1,200,000 tourists
as per the most recent statistics. In 2011,
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the Rwenzori
Mountains were voted top tourist destinations
by The Travel Africa Magazine and National
Geographic Society respectively.
While this is commendable, we have a lot more
work to do in order to enhance this source of
income. We are lagging behind other African
countries because our tourism industry grows
very slowly. We have low service levels amongst
hotel workers due to lack of adequate training.
In 2013, tourism contributed directly UGX
2.299 trillion to our GDP, that is 3.3%. We must
endeavour to increase the number of visitors
to Uganda, enhance service provision and
harness the income potential of this industry.

OUR FUTURE:
Ugandas natural vista when enhanced with good
infrastructure as well as high quality hospitality
services can make a contribution to GDP as high as
20%. In the future, tourism will be undertaken by both
foreigners, as well as locals. This industry will provide
us with very many of jobs in the years to come.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

OUR PROMISE:
We will:
Review infrastructural projects to see that the road
network, water as well as air travel can be improved
in order to increase the number of visitors coming
to our country.
Institute a government program in all 13 key tourist
districts in Uganda where specially trained officers
handle coordination with local communities,
licensing of hotels and commercial tourist activity
providers, reporting and collection of statistics.
Assess the current levels of hospitality skills and
invest more in the Hotel and Tourism Training
Institute (HTTI) to increase the number of students
that can be trained each year. Today, HTTI is the
only institute in Uganda that enjoys a post-graduate
employment rate of 100%. Therefore, if more people
are able to graduate from HTTI, more young people
will get jobs in the hospitality industry.
Invest in wetland-based eco-tourism and the
protection of forest reserves.
Upgrade utilities in all National Parks such as
toilets, offices, ranger outposts, communications
equipment and rescue services. We will also
improve existing and create new hiking trails in
different places.
We will enter into PPPs (Public Private Partnerships)
to manage portions of the national parks as well as
restock the wildlife population.
Reduce human-wildlife conflict by creating
transparent and timely revenue sharing programs
with local communities thereby encouraging them
to be active in conservation efforts.
Invest in marketing and public relations targeting
specific countries to attract more tourists. This will
be done after studying and determining the most
attractive markets.
Invest in cultural and religious sites to attract more
tourists.

38

9: Our Information
and Communications
Technology Policy

We believe that Information Communication


Technology (ICT) is a public good and that
all Ugandans have a right to it. ICT can be
consumed by all Ugandans at no significantly
higher cost than it is to provide it to a few. We
will therefore make acquisition and use of ICT
knowledge universally possible.

Goals
To have a knowledge and informationbased educated society that is globally
competitive and productive, strategically
placing Uganda as the nerve centre for
ICT innovation in Africa.
To strengthen the existing legislative
framework based on international best
practices and Ugandas unique positioning
in the near centre of Africa.
To keep pace with trends and emerging
technologies.
To promote competitiveness in order to
enhance development of the ICT sector
to match 21st century standards.

Primary Focus of ICT


Based on international practices we will focus on
transforming our economy, education, government and
society through radical ICT interventions in:
- Universal Education and Learning
- Healthcare Systems Management
- Agricultural Extension and the Commodity
Exchange Market
- Retail, Tourism and Hospitality
- Entrepreneurship and promotion of goods Made in
Uganda
- Technology, Research and Innovation Promotion
- Taxation, Business, Land and Property Registration
and Verification
- Credit and Financial Services
- Political Representation and Governance
ICT shall be an indispensable factor in defining how our
children learn, how we do business, live, enjoy leisure,
work and meet the challenges of national security and
global co-operation. No citizen will be left behind in this
21st century economy.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

39

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

Social
Services

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

40

1: Quality Education and


Skills Development
Education is the most powerful weapon which you
can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela

OUR TODAY
Ugandas development has a direct co-relation with
the quality of its workforce in terms of education and
the level of skills. The more people get educated and
develop marketable skills, the faster our economy
grows and the better our services become.
While improvements have been made with increased
access to universal primary and secondary education,
we still have a long way to go. In many areas, there are
still young children who have no access to education.
The drop out rates for UPE and USE are as high as
71% and 40% respectively in some areas. The general
completion rate for UPE is at about 54%.
Where schools exist, children study in poor conditions
with no classrooms, no meals and many times without
teachers and adequate scholastic materials. In some
cases, the classroom to student ratio is 120-150:1;
while the pupil to book ratio can be as high as 9:1.
There is no way that a pupil will gain insight without a
textbook or knowledge without a teacher.
The rate at which young girls drop out of primary
school is alarming and the causes must be addressed.
Generally, most of the children who join primary school
never complete secondary school. This mainly affects
the girl child. We must change this. Gender disparity
in school completion rates hampers Ugandas ability
to develop faster.
Where government has undertaken to build and/or
renovate schools, such projects have been mirred with
corruption and mismanagement leading to shoddy
work. In many of the projects in rural areas, schools
were built but teachers living quarters are lacking.
This makes it difficult to attract and retain trained
teachers as they have no accessible and affordable
accommodation. This is one of the causes of high
teacher absenteeism in schools.
Our workforce is crippled by lack of marketable skills.
Many young people are willing to get retrained or
to get reskilled if the opportunities exist. It is the
governments duty to ensure that all those that need
reskilling can get it and thereafter provide jobs for
them.

OUR FUTURE:
Uganda will have an education system with great teachers
who are paid handsomely and who are motivated to work.
Our exams will be well managed and students and pupils
will have well thought out curricula that prepare them to
compete with others globally. In the future, every child of
school-going age will be in school.

OUR PROMISE:
Our government will aim to increase the Education
budget from 14% to 20% of the national budget. This
is in line with the goals we as a country endorsed at
the Dakar World Forum for Education 2000.
We undertake to recruit and train new teachers
coupled with restructuring of their remuneration
with the aim of reducing the teacher-student ratio.
We will introduce and implement integrated technical
and vocational training programmes in Teacher
Training Colleges in order to facilitate the same in all
government-aided secondary schools.
Our government will demand an overhaul of the
current curriculum for all formal schooling up to
tertiary level. We shall discuss and agree upon
the desired outcomes we seek at each stage of
education. Our aim is to have an educated citizen
who is confident and self-aware, has ethical integrity,
is responsible to and for family and his or her
community, and is innovative. He or she should be
devoted to and understanding of Uganda, her people
and her needs.
We shall build more schools and classrooms in order
to reduce our student-classroom ratio from 120-150:1
to 35-40:1. These new schools will be built to replace
all schools that do not meet the required standards.
We will ensure that each sub-region will have at least
one university and vocational institute.
We will increase capitation grants to realistic levels
for both Government and Private schools that are in
Public Private Partnerships.
Develop and implement a specialised ICT Primary
and Post-Primary teacher training program with
digitalised education skills in order to roll out
an internet-supported curriculum. The goal is
to implement a new school curriculum which is
responsive to ICT knowledge and the informationbased economy of the 21st century.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

41

OUR MANIFESTO 2016


Strengthen monitoring, supervision and inspection
of schools by empowering the District Education
Officers and School Inspectors mandate in each
district to include annual performance appraisals of all
Headteachers.
Adjust our collective mind-set through scientific and
technological advances and encourage innovation.
We undertake to study, together with parents,
community leaders, civil society and our development
partners, the causes of the alarming drop-out rates
of young girls in primary school, and thereafter seek
remedies to reverse this dangerous trend.
We shall increase funding for business, technical and
vocational education institutes to allow them to pay
their instructors more and acquire the necessary
educational aids and other materials, and also to invest
in increasing internships and other opportunities for
industrial training.
We believe that the role of Uganda National Examination
Board is very important. We aim to re-organise this
body in order to promote efficiency and transparency
in its operations.
We undertake to work with civil society and the

Pre-Primary Education
Pre-primary education caters for children of
3-5 years of age. It is largely urban based, out
of reach for most Ugandans and receives no
government funding. Out of 3.5 million children
in that age bracket only 10% were enrolled in
2013. Pre-primary education is expensive for
many Ugandans and is characterised by:
inadequate providers
lack of teachers,
insufficient policy guidelines,
a lack of a regulatory framework, and
low enrolment where facilities exist.

OUR PROMISE
Our government will:
Develop a pre-primary education policy with
a curriculum that has set standards and
includes basic ICT Skills.

Institutionalize
and
provide
adequate
support for training of nursery caregivers and
teachers in our Teacher Training Colleges.
Gradually introduce nursery sections in all
government-aided primary schools.
Support and strengthen partnerships with the
private sector to ensure quality education at
pre-primary level.

SOCIAL SERVICES
TRANSFORMING
OUR ECONOMY

international community to find ways in which


parents and guardians can contribute to the
full implementation of UPE by providing food,
uniforms and transport for their children.
Without this support, it is impossible for
government alone to meet out Education For
All goals.
We will prioritise adult literacy and increase
programs by implementing existing policy at
Sub-County level and work primarily through
the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social
Development.
We shall spearhead the renaissance and restore
the glory of our historic schools. Some examples
are Sir Samuel Baker School, St. Josephs
Ombaci, Ntare School, Tororo Girls, Mutorere
S.S, Kangole Girls, Kigezi High, Busoga College
Mwiri and others. These used to be the pride
of Ugandas regions and sub-regions. Having
Ugandans access quality education in all parts
of the country will enable young people to
be exposed to our diverse cultures and will
enhance the national integration process.

42

2: Healthcare
Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the
most shocking and inhumane. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

OUR TODAY
Ugandas performance in healthcare is very low.
We are ranked 161st out of 186 nations by the
World Health Organisation.
Our healthcare system is inadequate both in
personnel and in diagnostic facilities.
On average Uganda government spends USD
150 million annually on treatment abroad.
We have the second youngest population in the
world with a median age of 15.7 years; and a life
expectancy of 58 years for women and 56 years
for men.
Uganda has an inadequate number of health
workers where the ratio of doctors to the
population is 1:24,000, nurses are 1:1,700 and
dentists are 1:77,000. In other words, there is
a severe shortage of medical workers and the
vacancy rate in the health care system of 59%.
There is an acute shortage of staff at Health
Centre II (55%) and Urban Area Health Units
(68%).
Because of poor pay and inadequate benefits,
Uganda suffers from brain drain and we lose
many of our brilliant medical workers to other
countries who pay better, provide more benefits
and opportunities for advancement.
We have had some success dealing with
infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cholera,
dengue fever, yellow fever and many more,
most especially the 6 killer diseases of children
through immunisation programs. This has led to
a reduction in the infant mortality rate.
We now suffer from non-communicable diseases
such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular
disease, chronic kidney and liver disease.
These are lifestyle diseases mostly caused
by risk behaviour such as smoking, alcohol
consumption, bad eating habits and lack of
exercise. It is the governments role to educate
Ugandans of the dangers of certain behaviours
since a large percentage of these diseases are
preventable. With good health care services

and modern early detection mechanisms, many


patients can survive for decades.
Of the 289,000 women that died of pregnancy
and childbirth complications globally in 2013,
5900 of those were Ugandan women. This means
that on average 16 women died everyday in 2013
(according to the Trends in Maternal Mortality:
1990 to 2013 report compiled by the WHO,
UNICEF, UNFPA, The World Bank and the United
Nations Population Division).
Malnutrition is a big problem in certain parts of
Uganda. The most frequent victims are young
children and the elderly. Studies have shown that
malnutrition costs Uganda almost $1 billion every
year in lost productivity. This translates to almost
6% of our gross domestic product. It leads to
children dropping out of school, an inability for
farmers to work long hours in the fields and
produce high yields, and early death. Addressing
malnutrition in adults as well as child nutrition
in an effective manner will not only save lives
but will enable more of our citizens to be fully
productive.
Our population growth is straining an already
inadequate health care system. Coupled with an
expectation of longer life of individual citizens
in the future, our system will continue to face
growing demands which, without deliberate
and careful intervention, would be impossible to
meet.

OUR FUTURE:
Uganda will have an efficient, high quality healthcare
system that is accessible to all citizens. Hospitals will
be easy to reach, fully staffed and well equipped with
modern technology. Preventive Medicine and Primary
Health Care will be the main focus of our system in
order to avoid the spread of infectious disease and
to minimise the prevalence of non-communicable
diseases.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

43

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

OUR PROMISE:
In 2001, Uganda became a signatory of the Abuja
Declaration where she committed to increase
government funding on health to 15%. In the 2015/16
Budget, government projects to spend 7%. We need, in
the coming years, to increase this consistently in order
to fulfil our commitment to the Abuja Declaration.
Our government will increase budgetary allocations
to health year on year until we meet that target. The
following are our commitments:
Our government will construct and equip an ultra
modern hospital with excellent, well motivated
staff using funds spent on treatment abroad.
Our government will renovate and equip health
facilities to acceptable standards to treat all
ailments.
Our government will restructure the remuneration,
benefits, and incentives given to medical staff and
all other health workers in order to encourage
them to seek and retain employment in Uganda.
We shall recruit 25,000 new primary healthcare
workers to bridge the current manpower gap in
the sector.
Our government will mobilise financing for the
Minimum Healthcare Package (MHP) that includes
but not limited to:
o Control of communicable diseases
o Integrated management of childhood illnesses
o Sexual and reproductive health and rights
o Immunisation
o Environmental health
o Health Education and promotion
o School health
o
Epidemics
and
disaster
prevention,
preparedness, and response
o Improving nutrition
o Interventions against diseases targeted for
elimination or eradication
o Strengthening mental health services, essential
clinical care, and
o Supporting a robust real time Health
Information Management System
We believe healthcare is a fundamental human
right, and it is our intention to ensure that every
citizen has access to good healthcare.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme:


We will introduce a Voluntary Health Insurance
Scheme nationwide.
This scheme is a system of social insurance in which
the risk of meeting the cost of the MHP is mitigated
by government and individuals pooling resources.
These funds will be channelled directly into an
insurance fund. The insurance providers who choose
to participate, will have standardised medical
insurance packages which will be differentiated by
the level and quality of service. Private insurance
will continue to exist as an option for those who
want it.
The scheme will be based on the principles of
equity, social solidarity, community ownership
and democratic control. This will be within the
framework of the Advanced Sub-County Model.
The key factor considered is that it will be familybased enrolment aimed at encouraging risk sharing
(having more people on the scheme and thus
profiting from economies of scale) and limiting
adverse selection that leaves out those in hard to
reach areas.
Voluntary health insurance is aimed at, among
other things:
increasing access to health care, and
reducing the burden of catastrophic health
spending particularly for low-income earners.
The Rural Medical Deployment Programme
We shall introduce a new program in which
eligible doctors will receive incentives to work in
rural areas. This program will begin by targeting
general practitioners, dentists, paediatricians and
gynaecologists

44

3: Gender Equality And


Womens Empowerment
OUR TODAY
Women bear the burden of unpaid care work for
the sick, children, the elderly and able-bodied
men.
6 out of every 10 women in Uganda are physically
abused.
28% of women aged 15-49 experience sexual
violence compared to 9% of men in the same
age group.
This is in spite of the several progressive
legislations such as the Domestic Violence
Act 2010, the anti-Female Genital Mutilation
Act 2010 and the Prevention of Trafficking in
Persons Act 2009 among others.
The estimated direct costs of intimate partner
violence range from US$ 6,560,0001, to US$
22,083,7842, including costs for the police,
health care providers, local councils and shelters
which is 0.7% of the national budget3.
Productivity losses due to intimate partner
violence have been estimated at 3% of GDP, and
women lose around eleven days of paid work a
year due to violence4.
On average 16 women died everyday
of
pregnancy
and
childbirth-related
complications in Uganda in 2013 (according
to the Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to
2013 report compiled by the WHO, UNICEF,
UNFPA, The World Bank and the United Nations
Population Division).
At 122.3/1000, our adolescent fertility rates are
higher than the averages of both Sub-Saharan
Africa (106/1000) and Low-Income countries in
general (91.7/1000). (Source: World Bank).
There has been both an increase in rape and
defilement (Source: Annual Crime and Traffic
Road Safety Report 2013 by the Uganda Police;
Uganda 2015 Crime and Safety Report by the
United States Department of State).
The practice of child/early marriage, though
unlawful, is still widespread in some areas of
Uganda.
70% of women are engaged in agriculture but
less than 20% control the outputs from their
efforts.
Only 27% of registered land is owned by women.

OUR FUTURE:
A Uganda where the burden of unpaid care work on
women and girls is redistributed and shared between
men and women; the state; private sector and
communities.
Both legislation and practice will be geared at
eliminating all forms of violence and discrimination
against women and girls.
Communities where equity prevails and households
where there is joint planning among the household
members.
Universal access to sexual reproductive health that
addresses the unacceptably high levels of maternal
mortality, teenage pregnancies, transmission of STIs,
HIV/AIDS.
Increased access to control over and ownership of
resources and assets including land, energy, credit,
information and technology by women.
An end to child marriage.
A Uganda where girls and women are valued as
individuals; where the same unwritten but inherent
rights we afford boys and men are recognised for their
female counterparts.

OUR PROMISE:
Drastically reduce the high levels of maternal mortality
and teenage pregnancies by ensuring all girls and
women have access to sexual and reproductive health
information and services.
Ensure, through our Advanced Sub-County Model, that
all pregnant women (particularly in rural areas) have
access to prenatal, antenatal and post-natal care.
Form partnerships with religious leaders, cultural
leaders and NGOs to increase the level of community
involvement in preventing Sexual and Gender-Based
Violence (SGBV) through intense sensitisation.
Together with our development partners, establish
assault prevention training programs for girls and boys
in secondary schools similar to the No Means No and
Your Moment of Truth programs presently running in
Kenya.
Avail a reasonable budget to SGBV reporting centres.
Equip health centres with functional SGBV handling
units.
Support initiatives that promote access to and use of
the legal system to address SGBV.
Develop gender equality indicators to facilitate
planning, programming, monitoring, reporting and
learning.
Institute regular gender audits for tracking compliance
to the regulatory and policy framework by different
actors.

UN Economic Commission for Africa (2013) Report on the socio-economic costs of violence against women: Uganda country Study.
Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (2013) The Economic Costs of Domestic Violence in Uganda
3
ibid
4
International Research on Women (2009) Intimate Partner Violence: High costs to Households and Communities
1

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

45

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

4: Pensioners
And Senior Citizens
OUR TODAY
The Constitution of Uganda provides for prompt,
regular and easy accessibility of pension.
It takes an average of 13 months and 16 months to
acknowledge receipt of pension applications for
traditional civil servants and teachers respectively
instead of the required 14 days.
It takes on average 23 months for the traditional
civil servants and 30 months for the teachers to
access the pension payroll instead of the expected
6 months.
The delay is due to: lack of a communication
strategy; the failure by the Ministry of Public
Service to use the existing records of retired
officers to commence timely pension processing;
the unreliable Pension Information Management
System (PIMS) among others.

OUR PROMISE:
Our government will uphold the dignity of retired
public and Civil servants.

Implement
a
robust
Pension
Information
Management System (PIMS) that ensures all
retired Public and Civil servants will receive their
retirement package within 30 days.
In our government, recurrent pension wages shall
be promptly paid.
In a Uganda that works for everyone, pensioners
shall not have to bribe officials to get their
retirement benefits.
Pensioners who were Public servants will become
consultants for government from time to time
where their knowledge and expertise is required.
You did your work, you served your community and
country. There is no excuse, therefore, for the current
workforce not to serve you better in your retirement.

Other Senior Citizens (65 year olds and above)


Having not worked for government does not mean that senior citizens did not make a contribution to the
development of our country. Most of these people have looked after their children, nurtured them into useful
citizens and have been paying taxes needed for the provision of services.
As such, our government will make provisions for paying social security for the wellbeing of our senior citizens and
ensure that they access health care from our Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme free of charge.

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46

5: Persons With
Disabilities And
Special Learning Needs
Women and Men with disabilities are productive
members of society that require improved access to
education, relevant training for labour market needs
and a non-discriminatory society to fully realise their
full potential. The reality in Uganda is far from this.

OUR PROMISE:
We will:
Construct and expand day and boarding schools
for children with physical disabilities and special
learning needs.
Make phased progress to roll out Integrated Special
Needs Education in mainstream government-aided
schools.
Enforce the use of Sign Language and braille in all
public institutions and at national public functions.
Special attention will be paid to Justice, Law and
Order Sector.
Ensure that all public facilities; hospitals, roads,
walkways are user-friendly to Persons with
Disabilities.
Institute support mechanisms for mothers with
special needs children to look after them in a
dignified manner.
Invest in high-tech skills and equipment to advance
the production potential of People with Special
needs.

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47

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

6: Housing and Urban


Development
OUR TODAY
The National Planning Authority recently made
a presentation stating that Uganda will have an
acute housing shortage of 8 million units in the
next ten years if we do not address the gap caused
by our fast growing population. The population of
Kampala is expected to rise from the current 3.5
million to 10 million within the same period.
This situation requires that we plan for lowcost housing projects, have a physical plan for
buildings, as well as access roads and utilities. This
situation cannot be handled by government alone
but requires the involvement of the private sector.
Governments role is to guide the private sector by
coordinating the planning and construction of the
housing units.

OUR FUTURE:
Ugandans will have a 50-year MASTER PHYSICAL PLAN
in which a balance is struck between urbanisation and
the construction of low cost housing. Bottlenecks such
as squatters and the land tenure system will have been
resolved. Every Ugandan will be able to own his or her
own home by having access to affordable loans. Slums
will be a thing of the past as the areas will be upgraded
and the occupants provided with financing options that
will make owning their own homes easier. Where the
occupants do not own the land, they will be resettled.
In the future, all Ugandans will have access to proper
shelter, clean running water, affordable electricity and
access roads.

OUR PROMISE:
We will enforce all existing building codes and
upgrade them to include modern fire fighting/
protection codes, as well as natural disaster
protection codes such as flood and earthquake
protection. Residential and commercial areas will
be designated, well demarcated and separated.
Basic design components will be standardised for
public buildings.
Our government will provide housing for Public
Sector employees including teachers, health care
workers, police, military and civil servants. This
will help attract and retain quality staff and enable
them to comfortably live in rural and hard to
reach areas. These housing units will be leased to
government agencies, which will in turn sub-lease
them to employees at subsidised rates.
We will introduce a home ownership scheme to
encourage people to purchase homes. Those who
contribute to the National Social Security Fund and
the Sub-County Community Bank will be able to
use their savings as a down payment for their new
homes.
We shall create a new Housing Agency to manage
the building of new housing projects countrywide
starting especially at district and sub-county levels.
This Agency will be empowered to work with local
authorities to effect their building plans and shall
have the power to resettle bona fide tenants and
to negotiate as well as purchase land for their
projects.
Our government will embark on a plan for new
towns in every region. These towns will be selfsustainable, having residences, commercial areas,
hospitals, schools, parks and other public amenities.
We believe that with our Advanced Sub-County
Model as well as the Master Physical Plan and building
programs every Ugandan adult will be able to afford
to either rent or purchase a decent home in the next
10 years.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

48

THE 50 YEAR MASTER PHYSICAL PLAN


We commit to creating a 50-year MASTER PHYSICAL
PLAN for Kampala Metropolitan area, municipalities and
towns. This master plan will be a land use plan to guide the
development of land and property. All stakeholders will
be engaged in an effort to plan for future challenges. The
plan will be reviewed periodically to adjust it according
to changing trends. The following will be part of the plan:






Public Housing Developments,


Industrial Developments,
Educational Facilities,
Parks, Forests and Water Bodies,
Sports and Recreational Facilities,
Tourism Developments,
Community Developments, and more.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

49

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

7: Ugandans in the Diaspora

We recognise that Ugandans in the Diaspora are


citizens who love their country and contribute
to her advancement economically and socially.
Our government shall establish a Diaspora
Services Division at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to effectively and efficiently deal with
matters related to Ugandans overseas. This
includes externalised workers, dual citizens and
Non-Resident Ugandans that are descendants
of citizens that migrated from Uganda in
the turbulent times of wars and economic
difficulties. We will make dual citizenship
meaningful, beneficial.
We will:
Register and issue Non-Resident Ugandan
identification cards at all our embassies and
missions abroad.
All registered Non-Resident Ugandans shall be
eligible to vote in national elections, at the nearest
convenient mission.
All registered Non-Resident Ugandans will be
eligible to own freehold and mailo land.
All registered Non-Resident Ugandans that visit
the country shall be treated as nationals and
therefore be exempted from:
a. Visa requirements;
b.
Foreigner/Tourist access fees for visiting
national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in
Uganda;
c. Foreigner/Tourist access fees for visiting the
historical sites, museums and monuments.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

Legalise participation of Ugandans in the Diaspora


in processes of good governance though missionorganised public hearings.
Provide incentives for Ugandans in the Diaspora to
transfer specialist knowledge, skills and technologies
meant to advantage Ugandas global competitiveness
and accelerated development.
Ensure adequate availability of qualified human
and logistical resources essential for sustaining the
proposed Diaspora Service Division of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
Recognise Ugandans in the Diaspora who register
outstanding achievements in different disciplines
bringing honour and pride to our nation.
Renovate all our official foreign residences and offices
of Ugandas missions abroad.
Promote and protect the interests of Ugandan
nationals in the Diaspora in line with best international
practice; celebrate International School days, take
interest in cases of Ugandans in prisons, set-up fast
responder abilities to meet evolving terrorist threats
and evacuation in cases of emergencies.

50

Bulungi Bwansi (Community Service)


Our Government will organise communities, neighbourhoods and the lowest level local governments to involve
all citizens in local development initiatives. Accordingly, we shall reinstate community service (Bulungi Bwansi)
in which communities can collectively participate in improving their own neighbourhoods. Activities will include
cleaning of communal roads as well as the maintenance and cleaning of communal water supply sources. We shall
institute a peer-monitoring mechanism of waste disposal and encourage environmental protection activities like
planting trees.
A health inspection regime will be established at household and communal level and competitions to reward
the best while encouraging others will be a standard in our various communities. Each household shall have and
maintain a clean latrine, a kitchen, a store for food, and other items such as mosquito nets, a tippy tap for hand
washing and a utensil drying rack.
The Sub-County Chiefs Office, Community Development Office and the Sub-County Health Inspector will
coordinate the implementation of the Bulungi Bwansi communal initiative.
Additionally, all communities will be organised into smaller units that will help to keep track of each other,
protect their lives and property, thereby increasing security. Everyone will be encouraged to watch over their
neighbourhood. They shall assist the Police in communicating with members to spread news of growing crime
and new risk areas. A study will be undertaken to devise quick communication methods to issue alerts of possible
crime and to call others to help in case of emergencies such as fires and accidents, and more.

TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY

51

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

Security,
Internatonal
Trade And
Foreign Policy

52

1: Securing Our Country, Your


Home and Neighbourhood
The protection of life and the overall safety of
citizens is the role and responsibility of government.
Every Ugandan life and the lives of people living in
Uganda matter and will be protected. The honour
of serving in Ugandas Armed Forces; Uganda
Peoples Defence Force, Uganda Police Force,
Uganda Prisons Service and Uganda Wildlife
Authoritys Rangers, must be recognized and
rewarded. At a minimum, our forces should earn a
living wage and benefit from facilities good enough
for their families.
Our forces need to be adequately clothed, provided
with proper equipment and modern arms expected
of advanced and contemporary servicemen and
women in order to protect our borders and be ahead
of the evolving nature of warfare and terrorism. We
will balance the delicate issue guaranteeing that
every Ugandan is protected against authoritarian
measures that erode our individual freedoms while
ensuring that our security and intelligence agencies
are at the same time able to keep us safe in a highly
globalised world.
Our forces, shall enjoy quality health coverage,
including,
psycho-social
support
for
our
combatants and their families.
VETERANS
We commit to paying veterans pensions arrears
and normalising the monthly payments thereof.
We commit to a day when Ugandans will celebrate
the sacrifice of all the men and women who have
served in our Armed Forces and remember the
families of those that made the ultimate sacrifice
for their country. Caring for veterans, both living
and dead, is a national duty for each citizen and
therefore we shall have a Veterans Day.

SECURITY, INTERNATONAL TRADE AND FOREIGN POLICY

53

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

2: Trade, Diplomacy and


International Relations
Our government shall pursue an independent foreign policy of peace,
security and happiness of all people. We will promote a people-led
economic and political integration, and proactively contribute to regional
peace and common development of the East African Community.
Our relationship with our neighbours shall be based on the peoples desire
for harmony, security and regional prosperity. On regional and international
security, our government shall pursue a security concept based on mutual
trust, mutual benefit and cooperation of equal sovereign nations.
We will train and equip our forces to tighten our border security, to control
arms proliferation, screen for undocumented movement of persons across
borders, and fight terrorism while meaningfully addressing the root causes
(of terrorism).
International order: We commit to our continued contribution to a
fair and balanced international order. We shall uphold the authority
and resolutions of the United Nations and commit to participating
in counter-terrorism, peace keeping and preventive diplomacy. We
commit to strengthening peace efforts in the Great Lakes region and
rejecting regional hegemony in East Africa and Africa as a whole.
International Economic Cooperation: Our economy shall remain open
to ethical foreign investors that will embrace a plan of developing
local capacity of Ugandans through technology and skills transfers
and support in-country sourcing to improve employment levels and
procurement of local content.
Foreign Companies: Investors shall be encouraged to setup and create
manufacturing jobs in Uganda, while encouraging the participation of
Ugandan citizens. We undertake to study emerging economies and
their strategies to maintain such investments and apply them as suits
our needs.
Government Agencies: Agencies such as Uganda Investment
Authority, the Uganda Export Promotion Board and the Uganda
National Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be strengthened
in order to enhance synergies between them and make investing in
manufacturing easier for both local and foreign investors.
Commit to adequate staffing of our missions abroad. Priority in
staffing shall be given to career diplomats, since international security
cooperation and global economic competitiveness depends on
superior institutional knowledge and prowess.

One of the main aims of our government will be to encourage the


production of Ugandan made products that can compete globally in
international markets. As such we shall be encouraging the branding of
our coffee, tea and other products with the aim of promoting our country.

SECURITY, INTERNATONAL TRADE AND FOREIGN POLICY

54

National
Unity

55

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

1: Unity: A Country That


Works For Everyone
OUR TODAY

OUR FUTURE:

Uganda still has a long way to go with regards to


national integration. We still have large groups
of citizens that come together over an ethinicitybased identity. We must, as a country, strive
towards national unity and cease to see Uganda
as a forced aggregation of different tribes and
peoples. This attitude has lead to the following:

Uganda will be a country that recognises our ethnic and


cultural diversity as our national wealth, while all of us
feel united as fellow countrymen. We will have a country
where justice is not selective. A Uganda in which NO ONE
IS ABOVE THE LAW! Our children from a young age will
learn about the values of our nation and all regions will
develop at the same pace. No single Ugandan will feel
disenfranchised because of his/her ethnic group.

Disrespect of the law There is a growing


culture of arrogance and abuse of power
by leaders at all levels. This stems from a
lack of understanding of the basic duties of
political leadership. Many of them believe that
becoming a leader gives one power to do as
he/she pleases and puts him/her above the
law. The directive Orders from Above has
pervaded almost every aspect of life for the
average Ugandan. While it works for some, it
disenfranchises and impoverishes many more,
most especially, the poor and the politically
detached from state-power.
In our country today, there is low reverence and
respect for our symbols. The national anthem
has become irrelevant and very few Ugandans
know this symbol of our national identity. , In
the recent past, Ugandans have chosen to unite
and celebrate our victorious sports men and
women, such as the Uganda Cranes, in a show
of solidarity. This is a good sign that Ugandans
are easily united over commonalities.
We still have groups of Ugandans who are
victims of wars, of natural disasters, of police
brutality and importantly of neglect in our
struggle to grow our economy. The economic
growth of our country has not been equitable
in terms of regional development and thus
some of our people do not feel they are a part
of the economically successful Uganda.

NATIONAL UNITY

OUR PROMISE:
We shall introduce programs to create an awareness of
the common identity of all Ugandans even though we
are from different tribes and religions. The common
traits of our various cultures shall be promoted and
a national culture representing a unified Uganda will
be established by working together with cultural
leaders and other prominent and qualified persons.
We shall adopt policies that prevent the dominance
of any one group at the expense of others. These
will include adopting a recruitment system for Public
servants that is fair and representative of both
gender and regions.
We shall establish a national reconciliation commission
to help all those Ugandans who have past grievances
to seek knowledge about what happened to them
and their loved ones as well to reconcile those that
have historical hostilities.
We shall convene an annual citizens national
dialogue conference that will contribute to a culture
of public debate on governments performance of
her functions and institutionalise open accountability
in the country.
We will seek and promote restorative justice and
offer reparations to victims of Human Rights abuses.
We will review and establish a respectable, inclusive
and diverse National Heroes Award Committee.
Institute Uganda Cultural week where we celebrate
our diversities with street contemporary bands, and
Musicians in fanfare.

56

2: Arts, Culture and Values

OUR TODAY
The Constitution of Uganda recognises 56
indigenous communities, each of a rich and
different culture; yet, their values and uniqueness
are scantly documented.
The available museums, including the National
Museum, are maintained below international
standards. Our heritage of antiques is devaluing
continuously due to poor preservation. In many
cases, we have lost cultural artifacts that are
usually a source of pride and a reminder of the
history of a people. Most of our cultural sites are
neglected and are losing historical significance.
Ugandans are talented. We have a burgeoning
music industry as well as a growing drama
and film industry. The Intellectual Property
and Copyrights of our talented artists are not
protected leading to a loss of potential revenue.

OUR FUTURE:
A competitive Ugandan world-class Art and Culture
industry thriving on the national and international
stage is what we should see in a future Uganda.
Copyright Laws must be enforced to protect the
income of our artists and to encourage more of our
people to promote Uganda through the Arts.

OUR PROMISE:
We will:
Swiftly, effectively and efficiently enforce the
available copyright laws, and enhance such laws as
needed.
Promote and support Uganda Writers Guild,
to effectively represent writers that work as
individuals or in television, film, theatre, radio,
books and multimedia to promote Ugandan
content nationally and globally.
Redesign and upgrade our National Museum and
National Theatre to international standards. We
will also encourage links with foreign museums,
which have Ugandan cultural artifacts to allow us
to enhance our collections.
Renew government relationships with all recognised
traditional and cultural institutions; establish fair
and cordial relations with them as custodians
of our heritage. Together we shall embark on a
national program to develop a national culture
that showcases all the good traits of our diverse
heritage.
Establish six new regional museums that shall
be hosted by regional Universities to enhance
research and preservation of our heritage.
Document, develop, protect and promote all
significant cultural sites as tourism sites that
will generate income for cultural institutions,
employ the local population and earn revenue for
government.
Institute a competitive grant for documenting good
cultural practices that shall inculcate desirable
Ugandan values for learning and adaption by
citizens.
Support Research and Development of indigenous
medicine and facilitate the process of obtaining
patents.
Through consultation with key stakeholders, we
shall develop a framework for organizing an official
practitioners body for the advancement and safe
guarding of our traditional medicine.

NATIONAL UNITY

57

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

3: Sports

OUR TODAY
Victorious sportsmen and women bringing home
medals have always been a source of pride that
has united Ugandans. Our national teams have
struggled to travel for international competitions
they qualify for because of inadequate planning.
Uganda has been slow to appreciate the value
of youth sports and its contribution to national
development. This is why there has been a
half-hearted approach to nurture and augment
the talents of our budding athletes, footballers,
tennis players, golfers, swimmers, rugby players,
cricketers and many more.
Sports is essential in maintaining the health of a
nations citizens. This is best inculcated in citizens
at a young age, preferably in primary school. We
must change our attitude and approach with
regards to the importance of sports to young
lives if we are to see an improvement in our
national and international performance.

OUR FUTURE:
Government will be a leading and active partner in
national sports development in Uganda. No longer
will there be low investment and neglect of Ugandan
talents. National talents that are identified shall be
groomed and nurtured. All our sports personalities
who are in national teams will earn a living wage and
other benefits. Ex-international players of retirement
age shall earn a pension for their contribution to
country. Uganda shall be a country with significant
contribution of talents to international clubs in various
sports engagements.

NATIONAL UNITY

OUR PROMISE:
Revise the legal framework to amend the National
Council of Sports Act so that all national bodies
are accountable to the government as well as
stakeholders.
Develop policies that will encourage private
investment in sports with options for public
private partnerships, foreign direct investment and
engage the Olympic Solidarity to help in sports
development.
Create Regional Sports Centres of Excellence
(stadia) where young athletes can go for further
training.
Make sports relevant in schools at all levels by
recognizing and rewarding students who excel.
Institute district and regional competitions to help
identify talent for further support.
Protect sporting facilities and ban the giving away
of existing sporting grounds.
Create a separate Ministry for Sports with its own
budget.
Establish a youth sports development master plan
for both in-school and out of school youth and
renovate all district stadia while protecting public
sports grounds and facilities.
Develop one National Sports Academy with world
class facilities to support the Regional Sports
Centres of Excellence. All sports persons who excel
at regional level shall proceed to the Academy for
specialized training. These persons shall join the
national teams and represent Uganda at sporting
events.
Institute early youth post primary sports scholarships
and encourage districts and companies to offer
sports bursaries to excellent school-going sports
persons.

58

National Teams: Aiming for the Stars


We will fully support Uganda Cranes to qualify
for 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
in Gabon and maintain players stamina
and motivation for the 2019 Africa Cup of
Nations qualification in Cameroon. Uganda
Cranes must be empowered to compete at
the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
finals of 2017 and 2019 and have a chance to
qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and
2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
We commit to lobby to host and sponsor
International, African and Central and East
African sports tournaments in Uganda.
We shall institute a policy to pay all Uganda
national team members a living wage for the
time they maintain a place on each sports
national team and for Ex-international sports
individuals, each shall be entitled to a pension
upon attainment of retirement age.
We will institute and support a National
Sports symposium that will help sports men
and women to bond across disciplines and
celebrate their contributions to our country.
We will support an insurance policy that will
cover the National Team Members and a basic
number of their family members as well as
set competitive international allowance to
reasonable and motivating levels.
Recognize medalists as national sporting
ambassadors with a lifetime benefit

NATIONAL UNITY

59

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

4: The Uganda Cadets An Exclusive National Service


The ideals of patriotism and solidarity are hard to
come by today. The concepts are mixed up with
ones allegiance to a political party or ideology.
Ugandans need to understand that our nation must
have its own values separate from the political
ideology of any single political party, and that there
are minimum standards required of all leaders and
citizens alike.
Our young people must be able one and all to defend
themselves as well as their families. They must
be empowered to know their rights and duties as
citizens so that they can require strict adherence to
them at all times. Citizens must be informed enough
to hold the State in check, to keep themselves and
their families safe and to know the importance of
respecting and upholding our Constitution.

OUR FUTURE:
All citizens who opt to will have undertaken the
Exclusive National Service Program. The program will
be non-partisan aimed at equipping young people
with historical knowledge of Uganda and where she
fits in globally. Students will choose in what capacity
to serve their nation. They will have a chance to visit
different parts of the country and will complete the
program having a better understanding of national
issues. In the future, 10,000 young Ugandans will
graduate each year from the exclusive National
Service program.

NATIONAL UNITY

OUR PROMISE:
We shall establish a National Service Academy in
which the students will be taught the basic tenets of
Ugandas core values namely peace, unity, equality,
democracy, freedom, social justice and progress.
Furthermore, all students will serve in one of three
areas: the Literacy Program, the Medical Program
and the Armed Forces Program.
o The Literacy Program will be aimed at increasing
Ugandas literacy levels in rural areas. The young
cadets will have a chance to go to hard to reach
areas and teach older women and men, as well as
youth who did not go to school how to read and
write.
o The Medical Program will involve being posted to
different parts of Uganda to join the government
health network. This will help the cadets gain a
basic understanding of primary health care as
well as essentials like First Aid.
o The Armed Forces Program will have cadets
posted in the branch of their choice where they
will learn how to defend themselves as well as
their country.
Enrolment will be done through a competitive
application process with regional quotas, as well as
gender balance.
Full scholarships will be offered to all who join the
Armed Forces after their National Service in return
for a 4-year service agreement. The institution
that they join shall finance in full their education at
university level.
During their service, all students will receive a
monthly stipend, accommodation, medical insurance
and other benefits.
All those in the Medical and Literacy programs may
join the Voluntary Graduate Program that will be
run under the Education Ministry for placement in
government jobs at the Sub-County level.

60

How We Will Finance These New Ideas


1. Our government is committed to streamlining expenditures towards a better life and a Uganda
that works for all. Our intention is to increase the proportion of the budget that goes to local
Governments, especially at our unit of focus; the Sub-County. As President of the Republic, I
would like to lead Government Agencies by cutting the State House budget from Shs. 257.3
billion to Shs. 100 billion.
2. In the same spirit, all spending agencies of Government will have to set their respective annual
budgets within the FY 2014/15 spending levels, that is Shs. 2.726 and 4.359 trillion for Recurrent
and Development budgets respectively. That bold step will to lead to a saving of approximately
2.8 trillion. We have the opportunity to allocate a significant part of this money to finance our new
programs in Agriculture, Health, Energy and Job Creation. More savings equivalent to 1 trillion
are expected to be made when we integrate most non-performing and very old projects into the
recurrent budget of Government.
3. Using my experience in and out of Government, I have identified domestically raised resources
that we shall use to finance programs that will make Uganda work for all of us going forward. I
know that whereas our countrys fiscal policy implementation has made tremendous progress in
revenue generation, not enough has been done.
a. It is basic economic management knowledge that revenue is a function of economic activity
(GDP growth or contraction). I know that even without change in tax policy measures, every
time an economy expands, so will revenue. A reduction in economic performance of the
economy has a negative effect on revenue efforts.
b. Budgets ceilings of government spending agencies are also unfortunately made without
any particular scientific rationale. Currently every Ministry and Agency runs an incremental
budget i.e what is allocated this Financial Year must be higher than what was approved last
Financial Year and that next Financial Year should provide additional resources. The culture
of incremental budgets to deliver almost similar outputs in quality and quantity must stop.
c. I too know from my experience in working with various ministries that because of the incremental
nature of the current budgets and Medium Term Expenditure Framework, many Heads of
Department have a lot of idle resources to budget for. A typical example is a Department
requesting for a heavy duty printer/photocopier/scanner which would require say, Shs. 60
million to procure. Common sense and best practice would require that after procuring such
a heavy duty machine or even a vehicle or consultancy, the same amount of money is not
excepted to appear on the budget the next year. Unfortunately, that department will expect
the same amount and will look for something to purchase just so that money on thier budget.

61

OUR MANIFESTO 2016

FY 2016/17 Go Forward Savings for Re-Allocation


Security

252.76

Roads

544.53

Agriculture

94.87

Educationn

177.20

Health

147.94

Water

102.23

Justice, Law and Order

349.28

Accountability

379.10

Energy

40.87

Tourism, Trade and Industry

30.45

Lands and Housing

52.88

Social Development
ICT

32.22

Public Sector Management

7.46

Public Admistration

284.80

Parliament

301.54

Interest Payments

94.76

Total Re-Allocation

2,892.87

Financing of new Government Employees to fill vacant positions in approved


structures.
We shall;
i. Institute restructuring of Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and
Local Governments.
ii. Undertake the process of advertising and actual recruitment for the relevant
job positions.
iii. Ensure that all those who successfully go through the recruitment process
automatically access the payroll on 1st July, 2017 (the first day of our second
Financial Year).
Out of the additional resources arising out of URA collections for FY 2017/18, we
shall allocate approximately 750 billion to pay wages for newly recruited Public
Sector workers as well as increasing both the Recurrent and Domestic development
budgets of those spending Agencies where need will have been identified.

******************************

THANK YOU

62

... Our Future Roads.

Go Forward - The Democratic Alliance


Campaign Headquarters
Plot 29 Nakasero, Kampala
Telephone: +256 392177930

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