President Museveni Commits Shs 618 billion to Scientific Innovation Projects
President Museveni has committed Shs 618 billion to support innovative projects led by scientists. A meeting between President Museveni and scientists, including Dr. Monica Musenero, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, took place on 10th August 2023 to discuss strategies for advancing local science initiatives. The President highlighted the importance of investing in new areas like the economy of knowledge alongside infrastructure and agriculture.
President Museveni on 10th August 2023 promised Shs 618 billion to scientists for various innovative projects.
Led by the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Monica Musenero, the scientists met President Museveni on Thursday 10th August 2023 at State House Entebbe.
During the meeting, the two parties deliberated on the best ways to promote local science projects that would in turn steer socio-economic transformation in the country.
“Now, we have already spent on social services, education, and health. That is how our population has grown, and that is how we have been able to attract people like you (scientists). On social services, even if we keep where we are, add on some elements of infrastructure, especially electricity, roads, and railways. Then agriculture and this new economy of knowledge,” Museveni said.
“For the new economy, Kiira Motors needs Shs524bn so they can produce 5,000 buses a year; for the modernized banana industry, we now need Shs45bn; for the vaccines, Shs25bn; for anti-ticks, we need Shs13bn; and Prof. Ogwang needs Shs11bn. This is not more than Shs700bn. Really, here, we should not waste time; we should start on this new capacity that will give us a new base of development,” he added.
The scientists informed the President that there’s a need to fast-track the implementation of pathfinder projects because they have a positive impact on the country’s economy.
“Your Excellency, we need to complete and functionalize the vital infrastructure because the operationalization of science really has a big impact on the economy. It has been growing, but there are gaps in the infrastructure. We also need to have an adequate innovation fund because it keeps the fire of innovation in the community burning, hence the new ideas that enable us to develop,” Dr. Musenero said.
The Minister further told the President that, as scientists, they need to have a conducive, coordinated, and regulatory environment that will help them innovate and fully market their products.
The pathfinder projects include, among others, the Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) and Prof. Florence Muranga’s Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development (PIBID).
Musenero noted that these projects have paved the way for the development of science, technology, and innovation in the country.
She added that they have also helped them develop a basic human resource that understands how science is applied.
“Kiira Motors seeks to lead Uganda to become a net source and no longer just a consumer of E-mobility. It also seeks to create an incentive for innovation that will enable us to develop the automotive value chain in the country by providing off-take and prioritizing electric vehicles for mass transit, especially at this point when the world is talking about the energy transition from petroleum to electric. It is very strategic, and it gives a country a head starts in our region and the continent at large,” she added.
“We are using USD 620 million to import largely used vehicles. So KMC will help us to reduce this import bill by locally manufacturing environmentally friendly vehicles, and we are beginning by prioritizing mass transit solutions.”
On the other hand, she explained that the knowledge-based economy will partly help Uganda promote import substitution and export potential.
