Five-Year Development Plan
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The First FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN I 96 1 /62-1965/66 Published by Authority PRINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER PRICE: EIGHT shillings THE FIRST FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1961-62 to 1965-66 A Plan for Development in the Public Sector and an Estimate of Private Sector Investment during the period 1st July, 1961 to 30th June, 1966. I. D. E. P. CENTRE DE DOCUMENTATION Ç3- 14 2-3 FOREWORD by The Hon. A. Milton Obote, Prime Minister In 1960 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided Uganda with an economic survey mission headed by Dr. Edward S. Mason of Harvard University. In its report—"The Economic Development of Uganda"—published in 1961, this mission made practical recommendations supported by analysis as to a basis for a programme of development for Uganda covering the period 1961/62 to 1965/66. My Government broadly accepts the recommendations in the report and has produced a development plan closely modelled on them. My Government now presents in this publication this plan which, whilst different in many respects from that suggested by the mission, is nonetheless firmly based upon the mission's findings, particularly in that it accepts the strategy of development recommended. The plan for development in the public sector here set out is substan¬ tially larger than that recommended by the mission or the one adopted by the previous Government, though it is by no means over-ambitious. If one looks at the rate of economic growth which may be expected to result, one can only conclude that it falls pitifully short of what is needed to secure in a reasonable period of time an adequate standard of living for the people of this country. To secure an adequate rate of growth of national output this plan would need to be in every way bigger. The problems of availability of development capital and technical personnel have been the decisive factors in limiting the size of the plan. In addition, the ramifications of our economy extend far beyond the borders of the Government's powers into the realms of international trade and payments; there, too, we encounter serious, though by no means insurmountable, obstacles to rapid economic growth. The Government may decide that more cotton be produced and the people may give of their best towards realising such a decision but the international cotton market determines whether we shall earn more foreign exchange for our increased exports. The Government may decide to borrow money from abroad, but inter¬ national money markets and other Governments decide whether we shall get what we want. This, of course, is a situation which all Govern¬ ments face to a greater or lesser degree, but the under-developed primary producing countries experience it in its acutest form. It is, however, encouraging that much thought and attention is being given to these problems by leaders of world opinion and that movements are afoot to better the lot of these countries by opening up world markets to their produce and by improving methods by which financial and technical assistance is given. An equally serious obstacle to development is a shortage of skilled men and women to carry it out. Through international action and the individual generosity of some of the well-developed countries there is now a growing supply of experts to advise as to what should be done. The more serious problem is to find the men and women to give effect to such advice. For this task we are obviously better fitted than anybody else. We know the language and customs of the people and understand the forces at play within the community. But far too few of us have in addition the skill and experience necessary for the task and this is not a situation which can be remedied overnight. It takes seven or eight years before an additional entrant to a secondary school can become an addition to the stock of professionally qualified men, and even then he needs experience before he makes his full contribution to the well-being of society. This plan aims to achieve a substantial increase in the stock of skilled men, but it will be several years before the results are felt. Meanwhile the Government offers a welcome to skilled expatriates willing fully to associate themselves with the interests of the country and to employ their skills for its development. Of more fundamental and weighty importance is the fact that, however successful the Government may be in raising the money and skilled men that are needed, the plan will not work unless the people grasp the opportunity offered and participate wholeheartedly in this great task of economic and social development of the country. In the first and last analysis, the country's development is dependent on the people themselves. There is ample evidence from the past that the people of Uganda are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to better their lot; but with our Independence and the launching of this plan the time has come for every man, woman and child to redouble their strength and energy in order to break through the barriers of ignorance, poverty and disease which stand between us and a prosperous life. A. MILTON OBOTE, Prime Minister. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Foreword by the Hon. A. Milton Obote, Prime Minister I The Land and the People .. .. .. 1 II The Economy ... .. .. .. .. .. 3 III General Policies for Development: I The Aim .. .. .. .. 8 II The Strategy.. .. .. .. ..8 III The Tactics .. .. .. .. .. 10 IV The Machinery for Planning and Implementing Development: I Planning Machinery .. .. .. 15 II Implementing Development .. .. 19 III The Role of External Technical Assistance .. 20 V The Public Sector Development Plan: I General .. .. .. 23 II Commodity Producing, Commerce and Tourism. .. 25 III Basic Economic Overheads 38 IV Social Services .. 42 V Defence, Law and Order .. .. .. 49 VI Administration and Miscellaneous .. .. 51 VII Kingdom Government and Local Authority Services .. 53 VIII Reserve .. .. .. .. 55 VI Manpower .. .. .. .. .. .. 56 VII Finance: I Recurrent Expenditure . .. .. 60 II Capital Expenditure .. .. .. .. 61 VIII The Private Enterprise Sector .. .. .. .. 64 IX A General Conspectus of the Plan .. .. .. .. 70 APPENDIX Summary of Schemes forming the Central Government Development Plan, 1961/62—1965/66 .. .. ..75 THE FIRST FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN Chapter I THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE Topography Uganda is an independent sovereign state lying astride the equator, near the centre of Africa. Its nearest seaport, Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean, is over 800 miles by rail from Kampala, the main city. The country is about 400 miles from north to south, and about 350 miles from east to west. Its total area is 91,134 square miles, of which 16,386 square miles are open water and swamp. 2. Most of the country forms a plateau about 4,000 feet above sea-level, traversed in all directions by innumerable rivers and streams. The general altitude decreases from over 4,000 feet in the south-west, to about 2,000 feet in the north. The Nile, the second longest river in the world, has its source in Uganda. It flows out of Lake Victoria at Jinja, and from there northwards through Lakes Kyoga and Albert into the Sudan. 3. The western limb of the Great Rift Valley runs along the greater portion of Uganda's western border. Associated with it are the Rift lakes of the west, (Lakes Edward, George and Albert) and the highlands of western Uganda, whose highest sections are the snow-covered Ruwenzori Mountains. These are the third highest mountains in Africa, and rise to over 16,000 feet. Lakes Victoria and Kyoga are also connected with the formation of Rift valleys. In the east of the country there are other mountains of a volcanic origin. The dominant one among these is Mount Elgon which scales over 14,000 feet. Climate 4. Because of the relatively high altitude, Uganda's climate is not typically equatorial. The climate is fairly accurately likened to a European summer. Mean temperature throughout the country is generally below 80 °F. Daily ranges seldom exceed 15 °F. Average annual rainfall is between 40 and 50 inches over most of the country. The driest areas are in the north-east where annual rainfall is below 30 inches, while the wettest areas lie along the shores of Lake Victoria in the south. Here, annual rainfall is in the region of 60 inches. The seasonal distribution of rainfall is very uneven. Most of the rain falls during two distinct seasons (April to May, and September to October) in between which conditions approaching drought are experienced in certain areas. Vegetation 5. The predominant vegetation of Uganda is parkland savannah which varies in luxuriousness according to rainfall. In the driest areas, in the north, conditions approximate semi-desert, while stretches of tropical rain forest occur in the west and along the shores of Lake Victoria. The mountains are covered by distinct belts of different vegetations, ranging from alpine meadows to equatorial forest. 1 Population 6. The total population of Uganda at the 1959 census was 6,536,616 composed of 6,449,558 Africans, 10,866 Europeans, 69,103 Indo-Pakistanis, 2,830 Goans, 1,946 Arabs, and 2,313 others. Of the total population, 19 million were in Buganda, 19 million in the Eastern Region, 15 million in the Western Region and 12 million in the Northern Region. More than half of the total non-African population were in Buganda. The most densely populated areas are the Lake Victoria basin, the highlands of the south-west, and the foothills of Mount Elgon. These areas have densities of over 200 people per square mile.