MK Movement Chairman Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba revealed Wednesday evening that trade between Uganda and Rwanda had grown to $20 million per month, citing figures from the Bank of Uganda.
"Today I checked with Bank of Uganda before coming here... the figure is $20 million per month beyond what was there before," said Gen. Kainerugaba, who is also the senior presidential advisor on Special Operations.
"Since the border opened early last year, trade between Rwanda and Uganda is recovering. Before the border was closed, our annual trade was $200 million, which translated to $17m per month," he added. "When the border closed that money went down to $60,000."
The General was addressing thousands of people who were at Kigezi High School Lower Grounds in Kabale town for the Rukundo Egumeho Thanksgiving Concert. Gen Kainerugaba had earlier laid a foundation stone for the construction of the Museveni-Kagame Market at the border point.
At the special event held at Katuna, where he was welcomed by hundreds of enthusiastic residents of the border districts of Kabale and Gicumbi of Rwanda, the General was joined by the Rwandan delegation. The Rukundo Egumeho Thanksgiving Concert was organized to celebrate the reopening of the Uganda-Rwanda border and it coincides with the birthday week of Gen Kainerugaba. The senior presidential advisor also visited Hills 100.4 FM on his way to Katuna-Gatuna Border.
It should be recalled that the army chief negotiated the re-opening of the border through a series of meetings with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba called for a borderless continent. "We continue to strive for a borderless Africa," he said.
The General arrived in Kabale on Tuesday and graced a number of activities, including commissioning a Water Ambulance at Lake Bunyonyi, which is 8km from Kabale town and it will help save lives, especially those of mothers and their unborn babies.
At Kabale Municipal Playground, he laid a wreath on a monument and paid his respect to fallen FRONASA fighters that were publicly executed on former President Idi Amini's orders. The senior presidential advisor also officiated a friendly football match between Gicumbi F.C. from Rwanda and Kigezi Select from Uganda as one of the activities to kickstart the Katuna border reopening Thanksgiving concert.
Meanwhile, the Rukundo Egumeho Thanksgiving Concert, which has also been graced by former Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura, is still underway and a number of musicians are set to perform.
