President Museveni has emphasised the role of wealth creation in the development of the country.
Addressing journalists as he winds up campaigns in Teso sub-region, Museveni said it is high time all Ugandans got involved in wealth creation, not only for their individual benefits but also for the country at large.
“Don’t mix development with wealth creation with development. Take an example of Kampala which has the best roads, some of which go over each other but you find there are ghettos and poor people there. Everybody must understand importance of wealth and even for development to continue, you must have wealth,” Museveni said on Tuesday evening.
He insisted that the wealthy greatly contribute to the development of the country by paying taxes, noting that the poor cheat the country since they don’t have purchasing power.
“When you remain poor you are cheating us because you are not buying anything. On the other side, when you buy sugar or cement, there is a tax you are paying. If you are economically active you contribute by paying tax. When you are poor, you are boycotting paying tax but you want medicine, roads and yet not contributing. Poverty will in the end affect development,” he said.
“When purchasing power of the population goes up, even the economy goes up. If people don’t have purchasing power, the economy goes down. They don’t have purchasing power because they don’t have wealth.”
Museveni said wealth comes from commercial agriculture, artisanship and manufacturing, services and ICT that he said everyone must be part of if the country is to develop.