Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to deliver national address
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will deliver an address to the nation today.
Museveni’s last address did not directly outline solutions to address inflation in the country. Calls for tax cuts from Uganda’s opposition have been met with resistance from Museveni, who suggested that citizens eat cassava instead of bread as grain prices surge due to the war in Ukraine. Museveni argues that subsidies or tax cuts would encourage citizens to continue purchasing goods while costs remain high.
The upcoming address will be his third in two weeks, coming after a large-scale protest in which dozens of protesters were detained following a clash with police in the eastern city of Jinja. Popular opposition figure and former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, who has been arrested twice in recent months for inciting violence and encouraging protests, was released on bail.
Besigye’s release from prison will also heighten in the country, as he will likely encourage further demonstrations in response to increasing food and fuel prices. Expect demonstrators to clash with police, as Museveni is unlikely to call for direct government intervention to deal with inflation in today’s national address. Instead, he will likely call for long-term solutions such as manufacturing electric cars to offset fuel prices.
