Uganda eyes middle income status: president

Uganda's focus on infrastructure development, science innovation and improved security is set to fast-track the country's economic development and elevate it to a middle income status in the next few years, said President Yoweri Museveni.

While delivering the State of Nation address on Thursday, Museveni said that since 2006, Uganda, hampered by a poor road network and inadequate power supply, has given its top priority to infrastructure development, which is a key factor in triggering faster economic development.

Since then, the government has built 1,627 km of electricity transmission lines, in addition to the already existing 1,427 km of transmission lines, said the president.

With the ongoing construction of big hydro power dams like Karuma and Isimba, the country's power generation will be increased, he said.

On the road sector, Museveni said that most of the roads, especially in the countryside, have been paved and road construction work will continue.

He said the budget for the ministry in charge of road construction has been increased to 1.1 billion U.S. dollars from 127 million dollars in 2006.

He said many roads linking Uganda to its neighbors in the East African region have been worked on.

With funding from the Chinese government, Uganda and neighboring Kenya have started the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway, which will link Uganda and its neighbors, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, to the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa, he said.

This is expected to lower the cost of transport, which is a critical factor in the cost of production, said the president.

Museveni said the government is going to concentrate on promotion of science innovation, arguing that they can modernize the economy.

"These scientists have the capacity to modernize our economy if you support them," he said. Endi