Kampala — Bishop Dr. Zac Niringiye has warned of a looming crisis in Uganda if the population growth rate is not drastically reduced.

Niringiye, who is the chairperson of the Uganda African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), expressed concern that 75% of Ugandans are below 25 years, saying this explained the high dependency rate of one on 12 people.

"There are unbelievably high unemployment and under-employment rates. In five years time we shall be in a real crisis as more and more people join the dependency group."

Niringiye was briefing members of the civil society organisation on the APRM report at Imperial Royale Hotel last week.

The African Peer Review Mechanism is a self-assessment tool on good governance that has been adopted by 30 African countries, including Uganda.

Uganda has the third highest population growth rate in the world, estimated at 3.2%. Experts predict that the population growth rate will persist for sometime arguing that there are twice as many Ugandans today as there were 20 years ago.

'There will be 60 million Ugandans, twice the current population, in 2030 and it is estimated that by 2050 the population will be 103 million," the APRM report stated.

The high population growth is partly attributed to Uganda's high fertility rate of 6.9 children per woman, again one of the highest in the world.

"For a country that is still in the early stages of economic development and is heavily donor dependent, it is dangerous to urge the population to produce children without cautious consideration of the implications," said Niringiye.

The participants agreed that if rapid population growth is not checked, the country could end up with' a mass of poor people who become a burden on the Government".

They also regretted that the position of Uganda's political leadership towards population growth is ambivalent.

They argued that it was a false notion to think that a large domestic market or a large population will ensure economic prosperity.

"If this was the case, countries in Africa and across the world with large populations would be rich today, but many are among the least developed", Niringiye argued.

The report listed 10 cross-cutting issues that need immediate attention and high population growth rate is among them.

It calls for the enforcement of a national population policy guided by five priorities: education for women, empowerment of women, change in traditional attitudes towards gender and childbearing, and promotion of scientific and technical development.

Corruption, over-dependency on aid, management of diversity, the land question and decentralisation are some other issues that need to be addressed, according to the report.

In addition, it asks the Government to focus on the resolution of the northern Uganda conflict, the management of political transition, policy implementation and the ratification and domestication of standards and codes.