Announcement of Report on Uganda Published on April 30, 1962

' HOLD FOR RELEASE WORLD • 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 25 1 D. C. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 62/13 SUBJECT: Report on Uganda Published For Release AM Newspapers April 30, 1962 "The Economic Development of Uganda," the report of a general economic survey mission organized by the World Bank at the request of the Governments of U~da and the United Kingclom, is being published today by The Johns Hopkins Press. The mission had nine members, nationals of five different countries. rt was headed by Edward s. Mason, Lamont University- Professor at Harvard University, and President of the American Economic Association. • With self-government achieveii and independence fa.st approaching, this report is particularly timely. The report is designed to indicate the main priorities in policy emphasis and public expenditw~~l required in the coming few years if optimum economic growth is to be achiev~d and living standards improved. Speci- fically, the mission suggests a five-year program for economic development to achieve these objectives. The missionrs report has sin~e been used by the Govern- ment of Uganda. as the basis for its o~..m. development program which it is now pro- posing to carry out. In all, the mission recommends a public investment and development program of more than ~53 million for the five yea.rs ending in June 1966. Of this, nearly i:,~ million would be spent by the central go~(i~rnme_~t, the remainder by other public authorities. Of the amount required by the central government, the mission expected that nearly half' could be financed locally. The United Kingdom The Economic Development of Uganda, 496 pages, 11 maps, 4 charts a.nd an index; price $8.50; a.va.fiable from The Jonns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 18, Maryland. • - 2 - Government has recently indicated its willingness to give substantial financial assiJsta.nce. In order to carry out the program in full., however, Uganda. will still have to look for sizeable additional amounts of aid elsewhere. In the opinion of the mission, if internal. measures are taken tn promote economic growth, the country· should be in a position to service further borrowings abroad. As the report declares, "International lenders and donors of aid prefer to help those who help themselves." The expenditures recommended for the central government in the coming years would average h6.8 million annually compared with h5.2 million annually in the recent past. Whil€, this increase would be significant in itself, perhaps even more significant is the suggested redistribution of the share of expenditures going to the various sc~t9rs of the economy. For example., the mission suggests • more tha.n doubling government expenditures in the commodity-producing sectors -- agriculture, livestock, manufacturing and mining -- together with tourism: whereas 8 percent of total government expenditures were in these sectors between 1958 and. 1961, the mission recommends that this proportion be raised to 20 percent in the coming five years. The report stresses that because of the country's dependence on coffee and cotton exports, its economy is highly vulnerable to world market trends in these two commodities. The outlook for cotton being somewhat brighter than that for coffee, the mission suggests a number of measures to increase cotton mitput. But the mission also believes that it would be wise_ t p broaden the economic base of 1 the country by diversifying the country's agiz1icultural activitd.:es. One hopeful line is to improve the quality of the existi~g 1arge herds of livestock and to take steps to assure that increasing. proport\t.pns of them are brought into the • • - 3 - • market economy. There are also good prospects for boosting output and sales of a number of cash crops, such as tea, sugar, tobacco, groundnuts and a wide variety of other crops. Accordingly, the mission urges a sharply increased emphasis in government activity in agriculture in the coming five years. Improved training and exten- sion programs are suggested, augmented research programs, additional credit,a system of selective subsidies and the encouragement of various types of managerial and technical change -- all designed to increase productivity. The report also outlines certain suggested reforms in marketing and price assistance policies ·to bring the pattern of incentives more into line with the general objective of diversific~tion. Similar recommendations are made to improve disease control, breeding practices and marketing arrangements for livestock. Necessary steps • will also have to be taken to modify existing systems of land tenure so that land can be put to the uses that are likely to maximize output. While there has been a good start in manufacturing, the mission believes more could be done to encourage additional enterprises, particularly businesses operated on a small scale. This will require simplification of regulations, tax modification and special measures such as training, a small loans program, commercial advice and the like -- to attract n.ew entrants into the manufacturing field. There a.re also some opportunities in mining, and the mission believes that the Government should make efforts to obtain more knowledge of the country's mineral resources. In order to keep present mineral producers in business and. encourage new investors, the mining regulations should. be overhauled. Uganda has many natural tourist attractions and the trade should grow as international travel continues to grow and become cheaper. But more investment • will be needed. in local tourist accommodations and other amenities, and more effort should be made in promotional publicity abroad. • 4- - • Under the East African common services arr~ements, the rail, water and air serdces and the posts and telecommunication are handled by self-financing East African services. Electric power is produced. and distributed by a Uganda public corporation which also is self-financing. The road system on the whole is good and the mission does not recommend any extensive construction of major new roads. The main emphasis in new construction would be on secondary and "feeder" roads. such new investment as is recoamended for main roads would be devoted mainly to upgrading those sections where growth of traffic density warrants a better road. The report projects investments in the social services at about the same level as in the past. In education, the main emphasis should be to fill the gap in high-level personnel needed to replace expatriate personnel. Additional • expenditures are therefore proposed in secondary and higher education. The mission points to the "feedback0 process whereby additional effort in higher education in the coming years will make possible further expansions in elementary education in later years which will in turn provide the pool from which a further increase in secondary enrollments could then be drawn in yet later years. In health services, the mission recommends a shi:f't in emphasis to preventive medicine so that more could be accomplished in improving the health of the people· with no great change in total costs. The report also outlines a reorientation of housing policy and special action to meet the acute needs of the Kampala urban area, the main city of Uganda • •