Kampala, Uganda | URN | President Yoweri Museveni has set a new target that will finally end poverty in Uganda during his sixth elected term at the helm of the country.
During his Saturday 13, February 2021 evening address, President Museveni explained that under the new term, his government will emphasize social-economic transformation.
President Museveni disclosed that he intends to support three million houses every year to change their livelihoods and thus chase away poverty before turning to another group the following year. The president revealed that he has already ordered the government to budget accordingly.
With his plan, the government will be able to reach 15 million families in the country by the end of the new Kisanja-term which ends in 2026.
Mr Museveni says the current poverty alleviation programme dubbed Operation Wealth Creation has not been reaching out to many Ugandans.
According to figures from the OPM, the president notes that the Operation Wealth Creation programme was only able to reach out to 900,000 people which is very low.
Since the creation of Uganda’s Poverty Eradication Action Plan in 1996, the Government of Uganda has come up with a series of programmes geared towards uplifting social-economic standards of all Ugandans with an aspiration of acquiring middle-income status.
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Although poverty rates overall fell between 1993 and 2016, they rose slightly between 2013 and 2016. Statistics from Development Initiatives also indicate that while the proportion of people defined as poor has fallen, the proportion of people who live above the poverty line but remain vulnerable to falling back below it has increased.
President Museveni blames the trend on Ugandans’ tendency to work only for satisfying their stomach rather than working also to fill the pockets which would get them out of poverty forever.
