Uganda is unlikely to benefit from the huge population dividend composed of young people due

to under-investment in education and low enthusiasm in opening up regional markets, an official has warned. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, in 2022 about 44.78% of Uganda's total population were aged 0 to 14 years, 53.52% were aged 15 to 64 years and 1.69% were 65 years old and older.

Dr Joseph Muvawala, the executive director of the National Planning Authority of Uganda, Africa is in a very powerful strategic position, since it is the second largest continent with the largest mass of arable land.

"With the youngest productive population, all of us seated here talk about the population dividend, given the structure. But you earn dividends when you invest. If we leave that population to go the way it is, without investing in it, there will be no dividend," he said.

Muvawala was speaking during the International Association of Strategy Professionals 2024 global conference, which was recently held at the Kampala Serena Hotel. The conference attracted officials from around the world.

He said Africa will bleed when the biggest part of its population is unproductive since the dependence ratios will run out of the roof. "How much are we investing in education? Uganda spends less than 3% of its GDP on education. The number we need is 7%- 10% of GDP. While our brothers in other countries get free education, public education up to university, we are struggling," he said.

Muvawala advised against giving loans to students, saying our productive population comes out of school with a debt and must pay back in one to two years.

"But we also know that we have a distortion in the labor market. That supply and demand are not talking to each other. It takes them an average of six years now in this Muvawala country to get their first job," he said.

Muvawala advised citizens against selling their land to migrate to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to earn less than $200 a month. "We are selling a productive asset, and we are coming back with fewer resources. If we could export the right people of the right caliber, that would be a big plus for Africa," he said, adding that we see the best productive population selling their land and taking themselves to slavery. He wondered why the Government was promoting the export house girls. "Why don't we export technicians? When we export technicians, then copying becomes innovation. Why are you fighting to make a bus that has already been made? Copy and innovate and move on," he said.

Muvawala also said the The government has not done much to harness the African Continental Frees which is currently 1.5 Billion.

Muvawala said governments are not creating enough jobs on this continent, since there are too many regulatory distortions that are keeping people away from investing in production.

"If I choose today to invest in a factory, I would need a license from the local authority, then the National Environment Management Authority and Uganda Revenue Authority will come and interrogate me. Who is willing to take all that for the sake of investing," he asked.

Muvawala urged the technocrats to copy, imitate, and innovate.

"How has China done it? Did they use expensive technology? If we are to be strategic in Africa, we cannot copy using expensive technologies. He said migration is a winner for Africa, but only when we do the right migration.

"We need to be strategic in production if we are to compete with economies in production of agriculture, where some governments subsidise 70% of their farmers. When you come here, you say no subsidies. In which market are you going to sell?" he asked. Muvawala cited an example of the demand for Ugandan milk in Algeria. "We have a big market opportunity. But that market is only important when we deal with it in an innovative and sustainable way."

He wondered why the sustainable development goals are more prominent than the African Agenda 2063, East African Vision 2050 and Uganda's Vision 2040.

"How can Africa develop using solutions from outside the continent. Can the financial architecture that we are working in develop Africa? Does Africa need trade or aid? African countries should resort to keeping our reserves, if we are to chart out our development path.

 

By John Ricks Kayizzi