President Yoweri Museveni has lashed at the World Bank for telling Uganda that countries that “build railways use own money.”
He said that such a statement from an
economist that purports to support Africa’s transformation through
Private-Sector led growth shows that some actors are not serious.
Museveni, who is in China for a four-day visit, told a meeting in Beijing today
that Uganda Railways tried to get money to fund railway construction from the
World Bank but in vain. The World Bank is one of the multilateral lenders has
supported many of Uganda’s projects – from schools to roads.
“One of our engineers recently told me that the Uganda Railways tried in
vain to get support from the World Bank until one official told them that
countries that build railways do so with “their own money”,”
Museveni said.
He added: “How will the private-sector grow if it is bedeviled with
expensive transport costs, expensive electricity costs or no electricity at
all, expensive cost of money, etc.? It is against that negativity, that China’s
solidarity should be measured.”
Government
has been for the last ten to fifteen years been in love with support from
Beijing.
Museveni’s speech was at the coordinators’ meeting on the implementation of the
Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation
(FOCAC). This is a follow up on the pledges made by China’s President to
African Presidents last September. China pledged, among other things, to
offer Africa UD 60 billion in support.
Museveni also praised China and Russia for the role, they played in the
independence struggles of African Countries.
“As we gather here, therefore, we cannot forget to salute the Communist
Parties of China, the USSR, Cuba and the other socialist countries that constituted
the third factor in our emancipation,” he said.
Uganda seeks to construct the Standard Gauge Railway from Busia border to
Kampala – the first leg of the line. However, the government hopes that China
can provide money for the project. On the other hand, Beijing is reluctant to
commit now because it wants assurance from Kenya that its leg of the line will
reach the Busia border to make business sense.
Uganda needs up USD 3.2 billion for the SGR to Kampala.
-URN
