Experts have said the development of a strong and dynamic private sector remains crucial for sustainable development and creating employment opportunities for the people of Uganda.
The remarks were made during spotlightUg that aired on NBS television Monday night under the theme: Government of Uganda funding for development.
Speaking during the discussion, Mildred Barungi, the Manager Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) asked the government to support private sector growth and build resilience.
"If you have read our national development plan III, the government agenda is to industrialise and we have a full programme on agro-industrialisation. I want to say it is very important for the government to support and fund development projects because you cannot leave everything in the hands of the private sector," she said.
She explained that much as Uganda has a vibrant private sector; it is still weak hence calling for more government intervention.
"Government can work together with the private sector and that is exactly what UDC is doing. We come in, work with the private sector, we hand hold them until that point, when they are able to stand on their own," she said.
Barungi noted that Uganda needs to create more industries of big capacities to accommodate different actors either as direct factory workers or indirectly.
"So, the government has the responsibility. I don't want to just call it a mandate, it is a responsibility. It is the duty of the government to ensure that no one is poor, one is jobless. So, it is important for the government to intervene because the private sector remains weak and cannot carry the entire mantle on its own," she said.
In January this year, President Museveni lashed out at past regimes for reportedly undermining the country's private sector and frustrating their capacity to create jobs for Ugandans.
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The president said unlike the past regimes which suffocated the private sector thus undermining its capacity to create jobs, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has created a favourable environment that has attracted local and foreign investments.
"Now that we have enough electricity, good roads, among others, the government is prioritising industrialisation to curb the hemorrhagic costs of excessive importation of items that can competitively be produced in Uganda," Museveni said.
Museveni urged universities across the country to teach students what he described as relevant courses that meet the job market in the private sector.
Once this is done, he believes it would help address the challenge of unemployment in the country which many experts have attributed to lack employable skills, lack of access to resources like land and capital, among other economic challenges.
