|
|
Uganda: Minister Kamuntu Roots for Sciences
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
New Vision (Kampala)
23 April 2008
Posted to the web 24 April 2008
Kyomuhendo Muhanga
Kampala
THE study of sciences should be promoted for faster economic growth, according to the state minister of industry.
Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu noted that science and technology was the cornerstone of development.
"We need to invest in industries, information and communication technology, pharmaceuticals and engineering. This is science-based knowledge."
The minister was last week addressing students of Ntare School in Mbarara. The governing council had asked him to explain why the Government was sponsoring more science than arts students at public universities.
Kamuntu, a professor of economics, said the only proven and viable route to economic transformation was through industrialisation and noted that the science policy was in tandem with that objective.
People need to change from rain-fed agriculture to modern methods like irrigation, he stated.
"Imagine waiting for rain which you are not sure on which day it would fall and the amount of water it would bring. This is why the country needs people with science skills. We can no longer afford to survive on primary production."
|
On the Bonna Bagaggawale (Prosperity-for-all scheme), Kamuntu explained that it was aimed at changing the nation from peasantry and subsistence farming to modern methods which would in turn raise household incomes.
But the students wondered how the scheme could work when the people in the north were suffering in camps. Kamuntu was optimistic peace would prevail in the region with or without Kony signing for peace.
He attributed the skyrocketing prices of commodities like food, to the opening of markets in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
