ENTEBBE – President Yoweri Museveni has advised Ugandans living in the United States of America – US and the United Kingdom – UK to utilise the available opportunities to invest in the country.
Museveni said Uganda was a secure country whose economy was growing stronger day by day and its citizens in the diaspora should use the chance to develop themselves economically.
President Museveni made the remarks at State House – Entebbe on February 14 as he met a team of Ugandans living in the USA and UK.
“When you are explaining to your people there, tell them that they are losing out because Uganda will continue to progress. Yes, you are there working but we think our system will become much stronger than what you have there.
“So, what I would advise is that the movement you are starting of re-orienting people is first and foremost for your own good,” said Museveni.
“You are linked to a growing force, a new force; people who were looking after cows just for drinking milk – they now know how to make milk a cash product, they now know how to make beef a cash product, leather a cash product.
We now have the Acholis who were hunters; they now have big commercial farms. We have got people who are getting into the money economy from the non-monetary economy. You can use your presence there to tap, bring and grow yourself,” he added.
Museveni told his visitors that Uganda had more returns on investment than the USA and UK.
“It will be better if we all work together but most importantly you are missing an opportunity which really you can take advantage of. There are more returns here than where you are.”
Timothy Nyonjo, who led a team from the USA, assured the President that they were ready to add a brick onto the economy of Uganda.
“We are working towards pacifying the Diaspora so that we bring the good things there to our country. We want to add value to agriculture, mining, and other resources,” he said.
In order to promote patriotism among Ugandans in the Diaspora, Nyonjo added that they were planning to set up Chapters in all states of the USA to mobilise and sensitise people about the NRM ideology.
“We are here to fight for our government and the ruling party which we support. Now we are acting as the third force ready to build the country without dividing it. We are spreading the gospel of mind-set change so that we begin to see things in a positive way.”
For his part, Allan Olara Otema, the Chairman UK and Ireland Chapter assured the President that they had investors who were ready to inject millions of pounds into Uganda’s health, Education, tourism, and agriculture sectors.
“We are the ambassadors out there, we are the faces of government out there and therefore, we have to be the ones that are lifting our flags high in terms of looking for investors and promoting our country,” noted Olara.
He also disclosed to President Museveni that as supporters of the ruling government, they were doing mobilization work to curtail the misinformation and defamation being spread against Uganda by bad political elements in the Diaspora.
“We subscribe to NRM, we believe in the party ideology and by doing that, we are doing mobilisation. As we are doing this, we are mobilising not only for NRM, but we are preaching to all Ugandans, we are selling the idea of Uganda.”
