BY PPU REPORTER
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has met members of the NRM parliamentary caucus who discussed the merger of government and public expenditure. At the meeting held at Statehouse Entebbe, the President counselled that "The subject we are dealing with is a strategic one. If you don’t answer strategic questions correctly, you end up with problems, and when you answer them correctly, you win,”
He further informed the caucus members that if the government decides to carry out the merger now, they will save Shs1 trillion a year.
“When we talk of rationalization, we are talking first of all about doing things that are rational and save money.”
He added that during rationalization, the whole structure of the government should be geared to support the wealth creators, since they are vital to the development of the country.
“This issue of rationalization is a strategic one, and the way to handle it is to start by asking the question that Adam Smith answered in 1776 when he wrote a book titled “The Source of the Wealth of Nations.” The question is, Where does wealth come from? Because there’s no way any group of leaders will succeed if they do not answer that question. That is why you find a lot of chaos in so many parts of the world,” the president said.
“Wealth creation is the issue of enabling families and companies, as well as individuals, to produce goods and services, sell them, and do so with “ekibaro.”. Now, who are these wealth creators? Number one, the commercial farmers; the second are the manufacturers; the third are the service providers; and then ICT. So, what does this need? They need peace, the infrastructure (such as roads, railways, and electricity), and they also need capital, skills, and technical support.”
The President also advised the legislators that if they want to be successful politicians, they must help the people they serve create wealth by sensitising them to embrace the four sectors of the economy.
The Government Chief Whip and Chairperson of the NRM Parliamentary caucus, Hon. Denis Hamson Obua, said as a caucus they support the rationalization of government agencies and public expenditure through the enactment of legislation in Parliament, sector by sector.
During the same meeting, Bukoto South MP, Hon. Twaha Kagabo, who belongs to opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), committed himself to working with the ruling party for the betterment of the people he serves.
