I am old but my brain is fresh, says Museveni

Kampala- President Museveni has said although he is old, he still has fresh ideas to lead the country.
“They say I am old and that I should bring on fresh ideas. These are my new ideas and if there is a fifth one that can be added on the four sectors [agriculture, service, industry and ICT], then somebody should tell me, unless one is talking about working for public sector — government!” Mr Museveni said at the launch of the Finance Trust Bank in Kampala on Friday.

He said he has regularly been reminded about his old age but he was adamant that he is still relevant and vibrant.

He said he cannot adopt fresh ideas before achieving the set targets for the old ones.

“I am opposed to some new ideas because the old ones have not been implemented yet. Let’s first implement the old ones and move on to new one,” President Museveni told an audience of bankers, businessmen, government representatives and technocrats.
According to the President, his relevance is demonstrated by how the country’s economy has been turned around or reshaped.
Recently, the President said he was born in 1944 at Mbarara Hospital, which means he will be turning 70 years this year.

The contradiction
However, the president has sometimes contradicted himself, saying he was not sure of when he was born.

His critics say he is stuck with old ideas as the world continues to move at a much faster pace.

President Museveni listed agriculture, service, industry and ICT sectors as some of his ideas that could turn around Uganda’s fortunes.
“In agriculture money can be made by shifting to commercial farming. And there are also opportunities in the services sector, industry, especially the small scale ones, and ICT,” he said.

However, there have been complaints of how the government has failed to assist the growth of some of the sectors listed above.
For instance, agriculture that employs more than 70 per cent of the population receives less than 10 per cent of the country’s budget . Uganda’s 2013/14 budget stood at about Shs13 trillion.

Dressed in military uniform, the President cautioned the management of the Finance Trust Bank against risks that come with expansion and upgrading to a commercial bank status, which the Central Bank granted them after working for years as a MicroFinance deposit taking institution.

The Bank of Uganda Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, said the bank was granted a licence to operate as a commercial bank after satisfying the requirements, including minimum required capital of not less than Shs25 billion.
“I have faith that you will do a good job but I must remind you to strengthen your supervision to safeguard your customers and shareholders from unnecessary risk,” Mutebile advised the bank’s management.

During her speech, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Annet Nakawunde Mulindwa, said although the bank’s focus is on women, it would also serve the youth and other sections of the population.

The board chairperson and Minister of Energy, Irene Muloni, assured the public that the bank would professionally conduct its duties and provide affordable credit without compromising the rules or exposing customers to unnecessary risks.

THE DEBATE ON MUSEVENI'S AGE

President Museveni’s revelation recently, that he was born at Mbarara Hospital in 1944 stirred public interest that the country was closer than ever before to knowing the actual age of its leader who has been in power for 27 years. The President’s exact age remains a mystery because he has previously professed not to have known his birth date.

In the opening paragraph of his autobiography titled, Sowing the Mustard Seed, published in 1997, Mr Museveni notes that his parents were illiterate and could only approximate timelines based on historical events.

Accounts offered in the book indicated his probable year of birth was “about” 1944. “I use the word ‘about’ because my parents were illiterate and so did not know the date. In such circumstances, dates were associated with events,” Mr Museveni wrote. “In my case, my parents had two events for dating the approximate time of my birth.

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