Mary Karugaba
8 November 2009
Kampala — Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi has called on Ugandans to improve their reading culture, saying lack of knowledge undermines development.
In his speech presented by the executive director of the National Council for Higher Education, Prof. A.B. Kasozi, on Friday, Nsibambi noted that despite the Government's efforts to develop policies to reinforce information flow, the reading culture in the country was lacking.
He asked the education ministry, publishers and stakeholders to devise measures of enhancing the culture.
Nsibambi also appealed to the ministry to entice the population to understand the value of knowledge.
This was at a dinner of the Uganda Library and Information Association (ULIA) held at the Arirang Hotel in Kampala.
ULIA is an association that unites information and knowledge management professionals working to advance information availability and utilisation in the country.
Nsibambi proposed that availability of reading materials should be promoted through mobilising people to write and record information that must not get extinct.
"Literacy includes reading, writing, and the ability to apply knowledge for better living. We, therefore, need to develop a readership development strategy based on programmes in schools and intervention in the community," he said.
Nsibambi recognised the urgency to establish homes for the National Library of Uganda and the national archives.
He pledged the Government's commitment to ensure that the construction of the two structures is done fast.
Nsibambi said the Government vests a lot of confidence in professional bodies, societies and associations as enforcers of professionalism and ethics for service delivery.
He commended the work done by the association in collaboration with training institutions in nurturing the conduct of information and knowledge service providers in the country.
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