Uganda today joined the rest of the world to mark international labour day with national celebrations this time taken to the Northern district of Agago at Akwee Primary School, under the theme: “Promoting employment through enhanced public infrastructure development.”
President Yoweri Museveni in his speech said that for an economy to gain strength, it has to rely on strong private and business sector.
“The United States of America is the richest country, not because of it’s leaders but because of the business people. Leaders in the US are seasonal, in four years they are looking for a new leader, just playing around,” Museveni said.
The President added: “Africa needs to wake up and know that the strength of their respective economies is the private sector. For that reason, by working on electricity and transport, we are making it easier for the private people to come and invest in Uganda. We have done all this by prioritising. You cannot do this by doing all things at a go.”
The president also launched the Employment Diagnostic Analysis Report.
In the next decade, the World Bank estimates that one billion young people will enter the labour market. Of these, only 40 per cent are predicted to find work if the job market remains unchanged.
However, Museveni reiterated the need for commercial farming as one of the ways of creating more jobs and fighting unemployment in Uganda.
“Once you engage in commercial farming, you create jobs internally – on top of what the foreigners are bringing,” Museveni said.
