Uganda won’t control high living costs – Museveni

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says his government will not intervene in the current economic situation amid a rising cost of living.

Prices of petroleum products, imported raw materials and food have been rising in recent months, a crisis being experienced globally following the war in Ukraine.

In a televised national address on Sunday night, Mr Museveni said that government subsidies or removal of import taxes would collapse the economy.

There would be a haemorrhage of dollars from the national reserves for the purchase of those expensive products, he added.

Mr Museveni said Uganda will need to frugally use the imported items it can afford.

He advised citizens to substitute expensive wheat with locally available food such as millet, maize, green bananas and cassava.

Most of Uganda is highly productive and many families depend on subsistence agriculture.

But even the prices of locally produced food have been rising especially in urban areas, driven up by transportation costs.

Ugandans are having to buy smaller quantities of basic items or park their cars to cope with the crisis.

Source: BBC