Uganda: Museveni insists on no-subsidy strategy

In a presidential address on Wednesday, Ugandan leader Museveni reiterated his stance on government interventionsim. Be it cutting taxes or subsidizing certain products, the President still favours a laissez-faire attitude.

"If you subsidies first of all you mislead people, they think that things are normal and they don't save and you start depleting your foreign reserves", he argued. Adding:"When you subsidies, people will continue buying more and more and more because you create an artificial comfort [...]"

The cost of food and imported raw materials have been rising in due to the surging price of petroleum products exacerbated by global supply chain constraints following the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Ugandan police arrested at least a dozen protesters against the rising cost of living in Jinja, in the southeastern region of the country.

The annual inflation rate in June reached 6.8% coming from 6.3% according to figures published by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Speaking to the press, the director of Economic statistics, Aliziki Lubega, explained the rise was due to "prices of commodities [which are] under core inflation."