The National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) leader Joseph Kabuleta has revealed that most foreign investors in Uganda are employees of greedy and powerful politicians in the country.
According to Kabuleta, some politicians scoop lucrative government deals and get foreigners like Indians and Chinese whom they use as proxies for their multi billion businesses.
The former Presidential candidate made the assertion while meeting leaders and locals of Kigezi sub region on Wednesday.
“We Ugandans end up thinking that the businesses belong to the so called investors yet in actual sense they are not investors, they are agents of our politicians who steal our country’s wealth,” said Kabuleta, who is currently on a nationwide sensitization campaign premised on protecting Uganda’s national deposits that could be used by citizens to alleviate themselves from poverty.
He added that since the so called ‘investor’ are agents of big shots in government, they have ended up mistreating and exploiting Ugandans.
“If he is an Indian, he is free to go and bring all his Indian colleagues to come and work from their firms in Uganda thus rendering citizens jobless. And a few of you who get jobs in their factories, are mistreated, overworked and underpaid. Unfortunately, we have no where to report them since they work for the big people,” Kabuleta disclosed.
“They make us lose morale to work because we are exploited. My fellow Ugandans, we have to fight such. We can always come up with a situation whereby for one to be considered an investor, he /she must have a minimum amount of capital they should come with in Uganda. We don’t want someone to use capital from the First Family or anyother politician because that’s always our taxpayers money. Secondly, how many citizens are going to get jobs from your enterprise? Thirdly, don’t bring a foreigner to work from here when a Ugandan can perform the same role.”
The Pastor turned politician also criticized government for importing products from countries like Kenya and South Africa yet they are also produced in Uganda.
“You find that a farmer here grows very good irish potatoes but government goes ahead to allow the importation of the same particular crop from other countries.This has killed the market for our locally produced goods. If government could say, we are not allowing irish potatoes from outside countries and people who have takeaways and hotels should first buy from the local farmers from Kabale or anyother district, Ugandans will mint cash from the products and in the end their livelihoods would improve,” Kabuleta urged.
” Like in all the areas we have been too, they have a lot of natural wealth but indigenous people are still poor. Thats what we want to fight as NEED, we need people to enjoy their wealth which is currently being enjoyed by a few people in power. Lets start the conversation.”
Launched last year, NEED, a political movement under the stewardship of Kabuleta has so far managed to spread the economic empowerment message to Busoga, Buganda, Bugisu, Bukedi, Teso, Sebei, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Tooro, Rwenzori and Kigezi sub-regions.