Civil society forms "Green Economy Network" to promote inclusive growth

A network of East Africans from various civil society organisations and the private sector has been formed to promote a new vision for a "Green East African economy."

Dubbed the Inclusive Green Economy Network-East Africa (IGEN-EA), the network was officially launched in Kampala on Friday.

The network's mission is to support the realisation of green investments in key economic sectors that create opportunities for all Ugandans while promoting environment conservation, climate resilience and human rights protection.

The network is also focused on promoting and attracting investment to small scale organic agriculture, fisheries, tourism, clean energy, agro forestry among others.

Dickens Kamugisha, the chief executive officer of African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), said the network is intended to promote development that is based on what he described as "green economy" instead of focusing on development which is dangerous to ecosystem .

He said that Uganda is endowed with natural resources such as forests, fertile soils, lakes and others that have sustained the Ugandan economy through supporting agriculture, fisheries, tourism and other economic activities.

For instance, he said in the 2021/2022 budget, the agriculture sector, which employ over 70% of Uganda's labour force, was allocated only Shs 500 billion while the security and infrastructure sectors were allocated Shs 3.4 trillion and Shs 3.1 trillion respectively.