What Awaits the Next President?

Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa

Whoever is elected president on February 18, faces a nightmarish set of problems: a war on corruption, terror threats, a faltering economy, rising population and budget deficits that will continue to frustrate government spending choices.

With such problems, the next government will have to make a choice between funding the country's huge foreign debt of more than Shs8.5 trillion and focusing resources to poverty reduction areas--targeting particularly the unemployed youth.

But for President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking a fourth term in office (sixth term in reality), analysts, say if he is re-elected next month, there will be no such choices. His campaign promises "require him to continue to pretend" that Bonna Bagaggawale-- the prosperity for all initiative and the National Agricultural Advisory Service (Naads) are sustainable.

Dr Frederick Golooba-Mutebi of Makerere University Institute of Social Research said: "If Museveni is to stay after the elections, he will not inherit anything; it will be business as usual," adding that a victory would offer him a perfect chance to continue with his policies.

But in the event that the Inter-Party Cooperation candidate Dr Kizza Besigye; Olara Otunnu of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) or Norbert Mao of the …