To all citizens of Uganda who need Uganda to regain its original glory

NOTIFICATION OF INFORMATION ON HOW UGANDA STANDS

ECONOMICALLY SINCE WE GOT INDEPENDENCE
The detailed complaints below are related to previous and current Government and
the following are my own opinions, facts and findings. I am driven by a patriotic
desire to see an effective and strong Ugandan leader who will serve or rejuvenate
our economy and save it from being buried in a ditch pit of 1,000,000meters.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PREVIOUS REGIMES OF OBOTE,
AMIN AND OTHERS AND THE CURRENT REGIME HEADED BY HIS
EXCELLENCY YOWERI MUSEVENI.
During the past regimes, Uganda used to export cotton, coffee and copper
mostly but managed to maintain the power/ value of the Uganda shilling
effectively, and contained inflation even though foreign powers were
interfering with our internal governance. For example, the Uganda shilling
was stable enough to have sufficient purchasing power whereby one dollar
was equivalent to six Uganda shillings and seventy cents (6/70) and the UK
pound was also equivalent to twenty Uganda shillings (20/=) only. At that
time, the Uganda twenty shilling note was nick named a pound because it
could purchase one Britain pound.
The Ugandan economy at that time was comparable to those of the three
Asian Tigers i.e. Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea and our cash crops
were cotton, coffee, tobacco and tea but today, surprisingly, when we are
exporting more items than before, such as cotton, coffee, tobacco, cocoa, tea,
cement, maize, flowers, simsim, cow horns and fish from all the seven lakes
e.g (lake Victoria, lake Albert, lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Lake
Katwe, Lake Wamala and Lake Bunyonyi), fish ponds and Rivers. Although
the situation is different, our export and tourism industry have increased
tremendously, our economy is not comparable to our previous economies and
the three Asian tigers mentioned above are now far away compared to ours.
The pride we used to have in our currency has today been buried in a pit of
one million meters and if there is no change in direction of leadership, surely
there will be no hope of our currency recovery. The three tigers mentioned are

far away and now we are on the tail of Africa; we are stagnant in the Indian
Ocean.
When this government came into power in 1986, it never consulted or sought
for consent from the citizens of this country, in relation to the arbitrary
removal/ deduction of 30% and the two zeros from our money, neither were
adequate explanations given. And we are still wondering where that money
was taken to. After, this government printed its own currency note
denominations in thousands, e.g. 1000/=,2000/=,5000/=,10,000/=,20,000/= up
to 50,000/= and then removed the denomination of cents and shillings as
follows: 5cent, 10cent, 50cent, and then shillings e.g. 2/=, 5/=, 10/=, and
notes of denominations of 20, 50, and by then 100/=note which was the most
powerful shilling note in the country (uganda) as how American has $100 note
and UK has 50 pounds note.
The size of our economy used to be computed in millions and billions, why is
it today in trillions? Which is not the case in Kenya and other neighboring
countries, unlike in the 1970s and early 1980s when our shilling was
comparable to their currencies?
Mr. Museveni currently praises the URA's collection of trillions of shillings
under his watch, but who allowed him to print so much unnecessary money,
was it the parliaments or the citizens authority? And for what purpose was it
printed? Does the discipline of printing this much money have the impact on
the economy? I am convinced instead it kills the economy, and I believe it was
ill intentioned on Governments part. An argument could be made that the
immoral plan was concocted to make the citizens of this country poor, thereby
ensuring the leadership stays longer in power. It is a sad story that a US dollar
trades in Ugandan shillings at a cost of 3000/= and a UK pound of about
Uganda shs. 5000/=. URA collection of shs 5 billion that Mr. Museveni talks
about in the media cannot be compared the money that he found other regimes
collecting before. By 1986 there was real money which had value and
purchasing power uncomparable to that of Musevenis regime. The exchange
rate was relatively more affordable to the citizens of Uganda and that enabled
them to get other currencies like those of the United States, the United
Kingdom, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The people of Uganda were happier

in their respective hometowns and homesteads, no one wanted to come to the

capital city for jobs nor to go abroad for slavery jobs like cleaning toilets
(ekyeyo).
First and foremost, this current government distorted the value of our
currency which was done by removing 30% and the two zeros which
worsened the operations in business sector, schools, hospitals that lead to
serious hunting of money. For purposes of illustration, when somebody had 7
millions, they removed 30%, leaving a balance of Ug shs4,900,000.The
further removal of the two zeros brought the actual balance to Ug shs 49,000.
The Government also went ahead and printed new currency and added one
and two zeroes for example a Ug shs. 5/= note became 500/=, a Ug shs10/=
became 1,000/=, a Ug shs 5,000/= then became 50,000, a Ug shs 1000 then
became 10,000/=. As a result of this economic distortion Ugandans were
forced to go abroad to do unskilled jobs (cleaning toilets etc) and others also
revised many other income incentives for survival for the fittest. In real how
does the current government bring in a budget of 24 trillion shillings when our
neighbour theirs is in the range of 2 trillion only whereas their economy is the
fastest growing in the region. Is it not a sad story to the people of Uganda and
won't that plenty of money worsen the living standards as well as increasing
poverty amongst the citizens?, For example David and Philip have forests, but
David gives 1 tree to Philip and in exchange Philip gives 3000 trees, In long
run won't Philip remain with nothing, this is what Uganda has faced and is
still facing.
The state of the worlds economies even those countries like America, Britain,
and Kenya their economy also dropped in value but not to the level of
Uganda. Today the dollar costs 447 times more while the pound costs 250
times more than it used to cost in the 60s and early 70s.
If the speed of economic distortion continues at this rate, our next generation
shall suffer terribly e.g by carrying sacks of money to buy a kilo of sugar, salt
and others necessities of life. In order to avoid that the situation should change
so that whoever becomes the new leader puts in place a strong economy, then
our currency becomes able for the citizens of this country to purchase cheaply
foreign currencies such as a dollar and the pound sterling will be more

affordable just as other state leaders do i.e. Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Kenya
etc.
I suggest that any incoming leader of Uganda should first and foremost review
and study all records and operations on how they were done during Obote 1
and in the early Amins time, and how the Central Bank and local banks of
Uganda were operating especially on the exchange rate control.
COST OF LIVING:
We used to buy a 15kg to 20kg bunch of matooke for Ug shs 2/40 (two
shillings and forty cents) whereas today it costs between Ug shs 20,000 and
30,000 yet this amount in past regimes could purchase an ordinary brand new
car such as a Citroen, Anglia, Peugeot, Morris Minor, Honda Accord, Datsun,
Toyota etc. currently the amount of money Ug shs 200,000 that buys a new
bicycle could then purchase a brand new Mercedes Benz of between 2000cc
and 2500cc
To put this in perspective, today a used Mercedes Benz, land cruiser (second
hand) costs between Ug shs 45-70m yet this very money in the past could
purchase 225 or 350 brand new mercedes Benz/land cruisers (cars); the short
of it is that our currency is an embarrassment. In the 60s and early 70s an
ordinary used motor vehicle used to cost between 4000/= and 8000/=, a new
motor bike between shs 850/= and 1450/=. Super petrol used to cost
2/45cents, regular petrol cost 1/95 cents, a good new Phillips radio used to
cost shs 375/= at hire purchase; to board a bus(KDS) around Kampala was
charged between 20 and 25 cents; a brand new sewing machine(Singer brand)
at hire purchase used to cost shs 1250/= to 1450/=.
CONSUMABLES:
A bottle of Cinzano wine used to cost shs 17/= and various types of whiskeys
used to cost between shs 45/= to 55/=; a bottle, an imported 1/2liter of milk
from Eldoret, Kenya used to cost 65 cents; a loaf of bread from Tiptop bakery
company in Jinja used to cost 80cents; a bottle of soda used to cost between
45 to 65 cents; a half kilo packet of salt used to cost 30 cents; a 1/2 liter bottle
of beer used to cost 2/40 cents; a bar of soap used to cost between1/80 t0 2/50

cents and later rose to 3/50cents then to 6 /=; a small packet of tea leaves used
to cost 10cents, a kilogram of beans used to cost 45 to 80 cents.
CLOTHING:
An ordinary suit used to cost shs 140/= to 180/=; a middle class suit could cost
between shs 200/= to 280/=; a VIP suits from Italy, France and England used
to cost between shs 300/= and 450/=; an ordinary shirt used to cost 7/50cents,
a medium shirt used to cost 15/= to 30/=, a VIP shirt used to cost between shs
45/= and shs 70/=and these were the brands of Real Brook and Van Hausen.
VIP shoes from Italy and France used to cost shs 65/= to 120/=; the ordinary
ones used to cost between 25/= and 32/=, Bed sheets /blankets of low quality
could cost shs7/= to 18/=, VIP ones used to cost 28/= to 45/=, Second hand
clothes and other used items including used cars were never allowed to be
imported into the country under previous governments, as a result, a lot of
skin diseases such as Candida, ringworms and other foreign diseases have
erupted in our country.
Electronics, usable and construction material
A new fridge used to cost 750/= to 1450/=, two pcs of chewing sweets used to
cost 10cents, a safety pin could cost 10cents, mwana akaaba(buns) used to
cost 10cents,bamburi cement used to cost 8/=, hima and Tororo brands used
to cost shs 4/= to 6/=; a lorryful of sand used to cost shs 40/= per trip, a
finished and fenced 4 bed roomed house with boys quarters together with a
land title used to cost 60,000/= within Kampala.
B, unfortunately and surprisingly, today things cost millions, billions and
trillions unlike in the 60s and early 70s. Today, you need to get three (3)
degree holders salaries to (put it together of Obote and Amins government)
in order to buy a loaf of bread since the salary of a degree holder was Ug
shs1500/=per month and additionally a degree holder could get a new car on
loan plus free accommodation, a diploma holder could get Ug 1450/=per
month. The clerical executive officers used to get a salary between Ug
shs750/= to 800/=. The Cambridge school certificate holders could get
between Ug shs 388/= and 411/=per month, a casual laborer or porter could

get a monthly salary of Ug 156/=, and the above mentioned scale of salaries
were okay and people could meet their living expenses sufficiently.
It is surprising and shameful for employees today earn in thousands, millions
and trillions when they cant afford even feeding their own families.
Previously people used to earn according to the scales mentioned above and
they used not to steal at all neither get bribes as it is today. Why it was so,
because our currency had strength. Since the currency has lost value and the
cost of living is high, people have instead resorted to corruption and outright
theft to survive.
In general, salaries paid to workers under previous regimes were acceptable,
and Ugandans were happy and proud of their currency. Costs/prices were set
and controlled under price control (essential commodities). According to my
research, people in Uganda survive because of good climate and fertile soils;
otherwise if it was a desert, people would have already died of hunger.
HEALTHY CENTRES, HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS
The above mentioned were entirely built by the past governments and today
the current government has failed to renovate and to stock the healthcare
facilities with medicine and equipment. Government cannot even pay a living
wage to the doctors and teachers. Teachers in government institutions cannot
even afford to pay school fees for their own children even to feed themselves,
Doctors have resorted to stealing medicine from healthcare facilities in order
to survive. Today a 500,000/= doctors salary is equivalent to 250/= in Amin
and Obotes regimes currency. By then Government primary schools used to
charge between 8/= to 17/= per term, junior secondary (day) schools used to
charge 70/=per term, senior secondary (day) school were charging 120/= per
term, for boarders the charges were between 200/= and 250/=per term.
Colleges /Universities in Nairobi and Dar-es-salaam used to be free, but today
people sell their land in order to educate their children and then have to pay in
hundreds of thousands and millions even for nursery schools which was not
the case in past regimes. The Education standards have also declined
compared to the old Cambridge certificate holder of prior times.

EMPLOYMENT IN UGANDA
In previous regimes, people used to get jobs on merit and not basing on tribes
as it is today. we had enough factories and farms to employ most job seekers;
at that time the Uganda investors were paying full taxes following the rules
and regulations of Uganda. The Ugandan civil servants also used to pay as
you earn and NSSF contributions, but the investors today barely pay taxes
especially those who are connected to the top Government officials. Today
there are no controls of foreign exchange and foreigners simply march out of
the country with all our foreign currency with no hindrance which has led to
imbalances in finances of Uganda, in another way there is no proper
governance in the country; looters are using this chance to steal our foreign
currency which is an evil (criminal tendency)
AGRICULTURE
Agricultural activities are the main sources of income in Uganda and
previously the old governments were strictly involved in assisting the farmers
in different ways at the grass root level, through the creation of co-operative
societies and co-operative banks whereby the Government would give a
hand in the areas of finance, expertise and regulation. In the past governments,
we used to have the following societies:
West Mengo co-operative, East Mengo co-operative, Bugishu cooperative,
Banyakigezi cooperative, Lango and Acholi cooperatives. The cooperative
societies put in place by government all of which further assisted and advised
government in areas of importation and exportation in conjunction with other
statutory bodies like Coffee Marketing Board, Lint Marketing Board and
Uganda Advisory Board of Trade, but when this current government came to
power it abolished them and others were sold to brothers and cousins of theirs.
RAILWAY SERVICES
Passengers and goods trains were brought to a standstill by the current
government and this was done deliberately, and resorted to using their own
individually owned carriers by road from Mombasa to Kampala so that they

could accumulate wealth without competing with train services and now you
can see who owns the carriers and buses?
In conclusion, I write appealing to my fellow Ugandans to put in power
leaders who are patriotic enough, who have love of Uganda and its citizens,
who can rectify our currency situation to once again become comparable to
our neighbors' currencies such as Kenya, Rwanda etc who have maintained
the value of their currency unlike Uganda .I again appeal to Ugandans to pick
a leaf from our neighbors like Kenya and Tanzania where the presidential
terms are limited to two terms only, whereby a person above 70years should
not be legally allowed to contest as a presidential nor a parliamentary
candidate .
My fellow Ugandans that is all I can state for the good of our country and its
citizens. Im not having ill intentions towards the current government but I
love my country and the truth remains the truth as I have stated.
We pray for Gods guidance that we get a leader who loves Uganda and its
people, willing to liberate Ugandans from economic suffering, agony and
misery.
AMEN
Compiled by A true patriotic citizen of Uganda aged 68 years.
Names are not mentioned for the purposes of security.