President Museveni has expressed happiness at the speed of developments within the East African Community.
Museveni who was attending the 14th Summit of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) in Nairobi, Kenya also thanked Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for his passion for a strong East Africa.
“I am happy that a dream that we started with our political elders; Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Mzee Milton Obote is coming to fruition. Things are beginning to move,” he said.
“Uganda has woken up and is reaping fruits. For example, we are now producing 2.5 billion litres of milk while consuming only 800 million litres. The surplus 1.7 billion litres are consumed by our regional neighbors,” he added.
He said had it not ben for the East African market, Uganda’s milk industry would have collapsed. “It is the same case with maize. Whereas Uganda is producing five million tonnes annually, it only consumes one million tonnes, the rest being exported to our neighbours.”
Museveni also issued a directive to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to work 24 hours a day in order to make business easier, especially at the border points.
Meanwhile regarding other projects, Museveni said that the electricity line to Rwanda through the Mirama Hills is now 75 percent complete and should be ready for commissioning by October this year.
“I must thank President Uhuru for working on Kisumu port. Water transport makes business cheaper. Uganda is doing something near Entebbe to improve this water transport network. I know that Rwanda too is working towards ensuring connectivity through the Kagera River,” he said.
He challenge the technocrats to study how developing water transport network can help the region exploit the Muko iron ore deposits using the gas under Lake Kivu.
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