KAMPALA, December 14, 2024 — Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Secretary to the Treasury, has urged Ugandans to focus on government initiatives that put money in their pockets, rather than demanding new administrative units such as districts and sub-counties.
Ggoobi, who was speaking on Tuesday during a press briefing for upcountry journalists held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Kampala, said, “We don’t eat cities or sub-counties or districts. We eat food, we eat money.”
He added, “I want journalists to encourage people to demand things that add value to their lives from their politicians. Ugandans cannot fail to make money from the areas and programmes government has prioritised.”
Ggoobi noted that due to the high cost of capital from commercial banks, government has intervened by providing affordable and patient capital through various programmes.
He explained that “Shs 8.3 trillion is now available to Ugandans across the country from the government as affordable capital. Of this amount, the Uganda Development Bank [UDB] has lent out Shs 1.45 trillion over the past 10 years. The Parish Development Model [PDM] has disbursed Shs 2 trillion, while Shs 553 billion has been allocated under Emyooga.”
He added: “The Youth Livelihood Programme has sent out Shs 207.9 billion, and the Small Business Recovery Fund, which supports businesses affected by Covid-19, has provided Shs 100 billion. Additionally, Shs 495 billion has been released under the Agricultural Credit Facility [ACF], Shs 12.5 billion for the Youth Venture Capital Fund, Shs 168 billion under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme, and Shs 824 billion for the GROW project.”
He called on farmers to avoid cultivating low-value crops such as tobacco, cotton, and sesame [simsim].
Tobacco is a low-value crop. You will never get rich. You will work hard, smelling tobacco and sometimes suffering from diseases like lung cancer, as you become a silent smoker. But you will never make money unless you grow it on a large scale,” he stated. “If you have small land, stop engaging in low-value enterprises where you work so hard for little reward. This will only keep you trapped in poverty.”
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