Museveni blames predecessors for causing Ugandans poverty woes.

Uganda president Yoweri Museveni has blamed his past regime as the cause of high poverty levels in his country.

President Museveni say’s that colonialists and past leaders are the one to carry the cross for why Uganda is having high poverty levels as they hindered with the minds of handworking farmers.

“ When the colonialists came here, they made our people grow the crops they wanted: cotton, tobacco, coffee, tea, and then our leaders just copied what the colonialists told them. So, when I studied the issue, I could see danger, number one was only working for the stomach.

“They (locals) must work for the stomach and the pocket. But secondly, even the ones who are working for the pocket do so without calculations. That is how you get West Nile growing tobacco. If you grow tobacco on one acre, you will never get out of poverty” Museveni said to The Monitor while addressing a meeting in West Uganda over the weekend.

The 77 year old head of state made the remarks while addressing leaders from the Acholi and Lango sub-regions at Baralegi State Lodge in Otuke District on Saturday.

The President encouraged poverty-stricken Ugandans to carefully select good enterprises such as coffee, fruits, dairy cows, poultry, piggery, and fish farming.

“You should select enterprises which have a big demand within Uganda, Africa and internationally,” Mr Museveni said.

President Museveni has been at the helm of power since 1986 when he took over from Milton Obote making himself the longest serving head of state in East and Central Africa.