President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni hosted the Indian community in Uganda to a dinner celebrating the Hindu Festival of Lights or Diwali, at State House, Entebbe.
Speaking during to the congregation, Museveni thanked the Indian community for their immense contribution towards rebuilding our country. We first had political problems but when we settled and became peaceful, many of you helped us rebuild Uganda.
“The Indian community has helped us establish a strong foundation for a modern economy. I thank you and we are happy with this contribution. Since most of you are business people, I want to let you know that government is doing everything to ensure there is a conducive business environment. For example, we now insist that whatever form of electricity we produce must not exceed eight American cents per unit.” He said.
He added that the road network is good now, from border to border. The government has invested a lot in this infrastructure. We are now moving to fixing the railway and water transport.
“For affordable credit, the government has capitalized Uganda Development Bank. This money should help lower costs and support the manufacturing, agriculture and ICT sectors. You can rest assured that the business atmosphere will keep getting better. As for corruption, it will be wiped out. We are building infrastructure to help us achieve this.” He added.
On the issue of recognizing Indians as a tribe, government will work on it. We can use the example of the Nubians. These were soldiers from Egypt, Turkey and South Sudan. They came here and never went back. They are recognized as a tribe in our Constitution.
