In January 2020, the six-day Afrika Kwetu Trek was led by His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. This trek honored the NRA bush war fighters who triumphed in the five-year guerrilla war of 1986. The journey served as a powerful reminder of Uganda’s past struggles and sacrifices, helping participants appreciate the nation current state and the progress made. Coinciding with this trek, the Ugandan government had adopted the National Development Plan III (NDP III). This plan aims to build on the achievements of its predecessors, NDP I and NDP II, by learning from past planning and implementation experiences and addressing previous challenges.
NDP III is designed to serve as a roadmap for transforming Uganda into a modern economy.Gen. (Rtd) Caleb Akandwanaho Salim Saleh, the Chief Coordinator Operation Wealth Creation, upon fully understanding NDP III as a working guide for achieving an evidence-based planning and budget for a modern economy ,wrote to The President, expressing clarity on the plan & goal, objectives, and programs. He conveyed his belief that Uganda was ready for economic takeoff. These remarks were also intended to be shared with the trekkers on the final day at Birembo.
However, Gen. Saleh was surprised and further educated by The President response. The President informed him that he had not yet read the plan but asserted that he knows what Uganda needs! He referred Gen. Saleh to one of his speeches made during the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meetings in 2018, emphasizing that he had repeatedly spoken about Uganda needs.
In this speech, The President scrutinized the status of Uganda’s economy from the dawn of colonialism in 1900, through independence in 1962, the economic collapse during the Amin and Obote II governments, the economic state upon the NRA/M entry in 1986, and the economy current state.
He highlighted the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) efforts /stimuli to ensure economic stability and growth, and projected what the economy would look like when Uganda achieves full modernity. The President urged readers to relate the state of the factors of production at each historical economic stage mentioned.
This comprehensive analysis laid the foundation for what has come to be known as Musevenomics