Falling shilling is a sign of collapsing state - opposition

Kampala-To fix the troubled shilling and economy at large, Ugandans must get rid of President Museveni, FDC party presidential contestant Mugisha Muntu has said.

Reacting to the economic challenges the country faces such as the depreciation of the shilling against the dollar, Gen Muntu yesterday said the politics of the country had to be sorted out starting with the removal of President Museveni, if the economy is to be fixed in a sustainable manner.

“Much as President Museveni tries to put on a brave face, there is a state of uncertainty about the transition and fear in the business community.

The current situation is going to force him [President Museveni] to pump money into the country even before the campaigning period starts.”

Gen Muntu said Ugandans should brace for tougher times because President Museveni is going to employ two measures; creating fear within the public and using money like in previous elections.

“We haven’t seen the worst yet. Those of us who want to see change should intensify our efforts to get Museveni out and put the country back on track.”

Gen Muntu tagged the current economic crisis on uncertainty and fear in the country. “There is a lot of uncertainty about the transition within the business community and so they are holding on to their investments and expansion plans,” Gen Muntu said.

His remarks come at a time when the Ugandan shilling is at an all-time record low against the dollar, with signs it could even slip further.

Yesterday the shilling closed at 3,554 Central Bank Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile said defending the shilling is unsustainable.

Other worrying factors in the economy include fuel prices rising to a market average of Shs3,700 up from Shs3,400 last month despite Bank of Uganda injecting more than $200m (about Shs693b) in the currency market, to calm down the volatility of the shilling.

Gen Muntu appealed to the business community to support what he called democracy seeking forces as they fight to get the country back on track.

Shadow Finance minister and chairperson of the Elect Besigye Task Force Geoffrey Ekanya concurred with Gen Muntu about changing the government.

“We need a regime change, if we don’t have that; the situation is going to worsen. There is fatigue in the economy, we need to downsize government and focus on the productive sectors.”

Agreeing with the FDC members, Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party officials said the bad shape of Uganda’s economy finds itself in today was a sign of a collapsing state.

Speaking at the party’s weekly press conference yesterday, Mr Micheal Osinde, the spokesperson for the Akena faction, said they are not surprised by the government’s failure to defend the shilling.

“The best advice is to pack off and leave other people to help the country because if the government has failed to do so it means many challenges are a head of us and they will do the same thing,” Mr Osinde said.
However, Government Media Centre boss Ofwono Opondo yesterday said the issue of the economy should not be reduced to electioneering by politicians but left to the technical people like at Bank of Uganda.

“There is no Museveni in Greece, why is the currency depreciating there? The answer cannot be removing political leaders but strengthening our productivity and quality of our exports. Gen Muntu knows no economics.”

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