Uganda’s neo-liberal policies badly affecting the poor, new book argues
Kampala, Uganda (PANA) – A new book launched on Tuesday in Kampala blames Uganda’s full-scale adoption of neo-liberal policies of sidelining the majority of the population as it benefits a handful of well-connected individuals.
The book is entitled ‘The Dynamics of Neoliberal Transformation’, authored by American academic Giuliano Martiniello, an associate professor at the American university of Beirut.
“While Uganda is having a fast growing economy [averaging over 6% a year], it is benefiting only a few politicians who have access to money and resources. The poor are left out of this growth,” Mr Martiniello said.
He said the state economic growth rate cannot continue to be cited as an achievement when the masses in rural areas and urban poor still suffer from mal-nutrition, food insecurity, unemployment and poverty.
He singled out the privatisation of social welfare services through initiatives that emphasised public-private partnerships (PPP) as a problem.
“The government reduced public funding due to this strategy [PPP] and dropped many of its responsibilities and replaced its role with private sector contracting for social provision. This has increased socioeconomic and spatial inequalities across classes among different regions of the country, and across the urban/rural divide” the author said
He warned that unless the government redistributes resources among the population, it will be hard to deepen development in the country.
During the launch, Prof Martiniello’s ideas got support, with top academics and other commentators associating with his views.
Prof Sarah Ssali, the dean of the School of Gender and Women Studies at Uganda’s biggest university, Makerere University, decried what she called the government’s decision to neglect health service provision.
“After the health sector was neo-liberalised, many Ugandans stopped putting focus on government for health. They are spending their money on health [in private health centres], leaving the poor at crossroads,” Prof Ssali said.
She said that the biggest chunk of the money that funds the health sector in Uganda comes from donors, with the government re-directing taxpayer money to other areas.
-0- PANA EM/VAO 16April2019
