President Yoweri Museveni has reassured Ugandans that recent actions by the Biden administration to dissuade American companies from investing in the country and to exclude Uganda from a regional trade deal over its anti-gay law should not be a cause for concern, saying the actions are rooted in a lack of respect and insisting that Uganda can still achieve its growth and transformation goals without external support.
“Some of these actors in the Western world overestimate themselves and underestimate the freedom fighters of Africa,” Mr Museveni said on Sunday, adding that past mistakes by African “freedom fighters” had led foreign actors to conclude, wrongly, that the continent “cannot move forward without their support.”
Mr Museveni’s statement, posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, comes in response to the recent decision by the US Biden administration to exclude Uganda from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) from next year. The US also recently issued a ‘Business Advisory’ warning American companies not to do business in Uganda due to widespread corruption and increasing restrictions on human rights.
Read more: Biden administration moves to exclude Uganda from trade pact
The president wondered why the United States did not take similar action against Arab states when they have similar – if not worse – laws.
(Editor’s note: Mr Museveni does not mention it, but the current US administration is led by a president who has heartily embraced governments behind the extrajudicial killings of journalists and worse.)
Uganda, president Museveni said, will succeed, “regardless of what some of the external actors and internal detractors do.
“The further good news is that not all the Western countries’ actors are of the same arrogant attitude. Many, actually, either agree with us or believe in the correct principles of live and let live,” he added.
The full statement by President Museveni
Fellow Ugandans and, especially, the Bazzukulu,
Greetings,
I need to advise you not to be over-concerned by the recent actions by the American Government in discouraging their companies from investing in Uganda and on removing Uganda from the AGOA list.
Some of these actors in the Western world overestimate themselves and underestimate the freedom fighters of Africa. On account of some of the freedom fighters making mistakes of philosophy, ideology and strategy, some of these foreign actors erroneously think that African Countries cannot move forward without their support.
Certainly, as far as Uganda is concerned, we have the capacity to achieve our growth and transformation targets, even if some of the actors do not support us. It is the eight points that I outlined for you at our recent Independence celebrations that are decisive.
The eight points are:
- Patriotism – not following politics of identity but following politics of interests
- Supporting the private sector
- Economic infrastructure development to lower the costs of doing of business
- Regional integration to create big markets that can absorb our products
- Working with foreigners who respect us
- Eliminating corruption
- Social infrastructure to develop human resources through universal education and health
- Protecting the environment that controls our water and rain.
It is good that the American Government avoided the mistake of defunding the procurement of HIV drugs for our 1.4 million people on those drugs. However, all our people on ARV treatment, and all the Ugandans, need to know that we had a contingency plan to fully fund the procurement of those drugs if ever the external funders were unable to fund them.
These pressures from outside are joogo (dharau – looking down upon somebody, underrating somebody) towards the Africans and must be rejected.
I am told that some of the Arab Countries have similar laws. Why don’t these actors put similar pressure on them?
In 1963, the OAU (Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner of the African Union) was founded in Addis Ababa. Only 36 African Countries were independent at the time; almost another 20 countries were not yet independent.
The 1963 of the OAU demanded that all the African countries must be independent, either by peace or by war.
The “jogooists” (the arrogant) of the world, mocked us: “What can Africans do?” In 1964, Frelimo launched the armed struggle against the Portuguese Army in Mozambique, joining the MPLA that had launched an uprising earlier.
By 1994, the whole of Africa had been liberated by the force of the Africans supported by the socialist countries of the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, etc. What does this tell you? Africa has all the ingredients to succeed – if we use them correctly.
Uganda, under the NRM, is and will succeed, regardless of what some external actors and internal detractors do.
The further good news, is that not all the western countries’ actors are of the same arrogant attitude. Many, actually, either agree with us or believe in the correct principles of live and let live. Even in the colonial times, some eestern actors supported our anti-colonial struggle. People like Fenner Brockway, Dingle Foot, Olof Palme, etc., supported us.
Signed
Yoweri K. Museveni
Gen (Rtd)
Ssaabalwanyi
