Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni yesterday told his country's donors that he was unhappy with his country's rate of economic growth and called for greater access to western markets to prop up growth.

"I am disgruntled, I am not happy with 6,5%, we should be growing by 13%. China is doing it, why can't we?" Museveni told the opening session of a three-day annual conference of Uganda's donors in Kampala.

During the conference, Uganda is expected to present its funding needs for the next three years to western donors, who bank-roll Uganda's budget by more than 50%.

Museveni told the Paris Club donors, who decided to shift the meeting from Paris to Kampala, that Uganda had achieved a "minimum recovery programme" for the economy since 1987 when it was launched.

"Inflation had been brought under control, goods are now available in shops, production of goods and services has increased, macro-economic stability achieved and sustained, infrastructure repaired and there is rehabilitation and provision of social services," Museveni said.

"Inflation has been brought down from over 200% in 1986/7 to less than 10% presently; safe water coverage had been increased from 10% to 55% in rural areas and from 22% to 65% in urban areas," he pointed out.

"Literacy rates had increased with Primary Education enrolment jumping from 2,9-million pupils in 1996/7 to 7,3-million in 2002/3, of whom 6,5-million are in government aided schools," Museveni added.

He said national road network had increased and expanded by 7,1% over the last five years from 8 830 km in 1996/7 to 9 458 km in 2001/2, immunisation has increased from 41% in 2000 to 65% in 2002, while in the telecommunications sector the number of phone subscribers had jumped from 230 000 in 2000 to over 500 000 presently.

Museveni said Uganda averaged an annual 6,5% growth in its economy in the 1990s, making it one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, but projections for this year indicate that this target will not be achieved.

"The crucial task now is to elevate Uganda from its current pre-industrial status to a modern industrial society by accessing the western markets," Museveni said.

But Museveni observed that continued donor dependence and support cannot go on indefinitely, charging: "We must increase our industrial production, widen our tax base and increase our export earnings".

"Africa's massive loss of value in exports must be curtailed by exporting value-added products of coffee, cotton, leather and fruits," he said.

But a key contentious issue expected to be raised will be Uganda's defence spending, which the donors have criticised in the past, and corruption in government departments.

Uganda's defence budget has been strained by its military involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a 17-year insurgency in the north of the country. – Sapa-AFP.