The Minister for Presidency, Babirye Milly Babalanda has called upon Ugandans and the General Public to embrace patriotism, pan- African and the spirit of self esteem as they mark Independence celebrations, slated for 9 October 2023. She made the call while addressing Journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday.
Minister Babalanda, said this year’s Independence celebrations shall run under the theme: “Sustaining a united and progressive Nation: Taking Charge of our future as a free Nation”.
She said the theme recognizes Uganda’s history and the compatriots who patriotically provided and sustained the leadership, ideology and momentum towards self-rule.
“The theme is rooted into the ideals of our Independence founding fathers, who visualized a country based on the rule of law, democracy, socio- economic transformation and good governance,”she said.
According to a synopsis statement on this year’s Independence celebrations, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) being at helm, Government has set out a clear ideological path for all Citizens to appreciate the Common good – as Government pursues a Science – led Vision of Uganda’s national development.
The synopsis highlights that Uganda continues to be a haven of peace since 2006 when remnants of the Lord’s Resistance Army bandits were completely defeated and fled to the jungles of the Central African Republic.
“We have enjoyed tremendous progress in all sectors of our economy. We continue to work towards keeping this cherished record and driving this beautiful country into a fully democratic modernized state. This achievement has not come by accident, but has been a result of our conscious and collective efforts in carrying forward the ideals espoused by the founders of this great nation,”reads the synopsis statement in part.
“We should be thankful to God almighty for this blessing. The peace and tranquility that we continue to enjoy has been key to attracting investment in sectors such as mining, construction, energy, agriculture, telecommunications and tourism,”adds the statement.
The synopsis hinges on the importance of emulating Uganda’s founding fathers by putting national interests above self-interests.
“Our independence should, therefore, be used as a vehicle to achieving inclusive development and prosperity. Our independence will be futile as long as poverty levels in our nation remain high. We should not be satisfied until the fruits of independence roll down to all parts of our country like the waters of the mighty River Nile flowing from its humble beginnings to the seas of abundance,” further states the statement.
In addition, the statement states that; Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to reach 48.29 USD Billion by the end of 2023, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations.
“In the long-term, the Uganda GDP is projected to trend around 51.43 USD Billion in 2024 and 55.03 USD Billion in 2025, according to our econometric models. It is this kind of growth that has enabled our leadership to dictate our pace of development minus dancing to the whims of some of our development partners most of whom set conditions for their loans that are counterproductive or not in tandem with our set priorities,” adds the statement.
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