Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has downplayed concerns over the expulsion of his country from a special US-Africa trade programme.
Last week, US President Joe Biden said Uganda and three other African countries would be removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), citing Uganda’s “gross violations of internationally recognised human rights”.
But President Museveni on Sunday criticised the US, saying they “overestimate themselves” and “erroneously think that African countries cannot move forward without their support”.
“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,” he added.
US is the latest to take action against Uganda, which in May passed a controversial anti-homosexuality law that includes a death penalty for certain same-sex acts.
The law prompted the World Bank to withdraw Uganda’s funding, but President Museveni doubled down, accusing the organisation of coercing his country to reverse the law. He stated that Uganda could still develop without the bank’s support.
Mr Museveni, however, hailed the American government for maintaining funding for HIV drugs, but added that his government had a contingency plan to acquire the drugs if foreign donors pulled out.
Read Museveni’s Full statement
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 the 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 business in the economy; regional integration to create big markets that can absorb our products; working with foreigners who respect us; eliminate corruption; social infrastructure to develop the human resource through universal education and health, and protecting the environment that controls our water and our rain.
It is good that the American Government avoided the mistake of de-funding the procurement of the HIV drugs for our 1.4 million People on those drugs.
However, all our People on the ARVs 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 pressures, on them?
In 1963, the OAU was founded in Addis Ababa. Only 36 African Countries were independent that time and they are the ones that attended. Almost another 20 countries were not yet Independent.
That OAU meeting, then, 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. Africa has got all the ingredients to succeed if we use them correctly.
Uganda, under the NRM, is and 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. Even in the colonial times, some Western actors supported our anti-colonial struggle. People like Fenner Brockway, Dingle Foot, Olof Palme, etc., supported us.
Signed:
Yoweri K. Museveni
Gen (Rtd)
Ssaabalwayni
