The former Vice President, Prof Gilbert Balibaseka Bukenya, called for the return of a national bank to revive the country’s economic growth. Bukenya who is the MP for Busiro North in Wakiso district said that it was wrong for President Yoweri Museveni’s government to privatize the national bank which could have been used to help poor Ugandans borrow money at low interest rate to improve on their earning.

He further mentioned that the president’s U-turn over privatization is a clear testimony that there was a rash in surrendering the national bank, which used to be known as Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB), to private hands. He noted that most of the countries with prospering economies have national banks.

Bukenya also warned coffee growers against selling raw coffee in a bid to increase on their income. He added that it is better to revive the cooperative unions so as to give a way out to poor people to borrow money from cooperatives as they wait to sell their dry coffee.