President Museveni will assume the chairmanship of the African Peer Review (APR) Forum of Heads of State and Government in February 2026, a role that will place Uganda at the helm of guiding continental governance and development priorities.
President Museveni will take over the chairmanship from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria and will serve a two-year term, from February 2026 to February 2028.
The announcement was made on Frriday during a briefing at State House Entebbe, attended by a delegation from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Continental Secretariat.
The delegation was led by Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose Quatre, the Secretariat’s Chief Executive Officer, along with Uganda’s APRM Focal Point, Amos Lugoloobi, Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
The APR Forum of Heads of State and Government is the highest decision-making body of the APRM.
It brings together African leaders to evaluate governance practices and promote political, economic, and corporate reforms across the continent.
Ambassador Quatre outlined the ceremonial and operational responsibilities awaiting Uganda’s leadership: “At the opening ceremony, President Tebboune will hand over the APRM and AU flags, as well as the gavel to President Museveni. He will then deliver his inaugural statement as Chairperson, guide the closed Summit session, and present the Forum’s report to the AU Summit.”
She also highlighted Uganda’s broader leadership role. “The APRM Focal Point of Uganda will automatically assume chairmanship of the APRM Focal Points Committee. The National Governing Council and Secretariat will also take on leadership roles at the continental level. We feel privileged that this great responsibility will be under your stewardship.”
President Museveni welcomed the appointment, describing the APRM as a valuable platform for African leaders to share ideas and correct historical mistakes.
“The APR was a good initiative because it gave us a chance to share ideas. Since independence, the biggest mistake has been the issue of ideas—people were groping in the dark, touching here and there. With a false sense of sovereignty, they feared that sharing ideas would be seen as interfering in internal affairs. As a result, we lost a lot of time until this opportunity came up.”
Drawing on his six decades of political and economic observation, he likened Africa’s developmental challenges to Europe’s intellectual struggles during the Renaissance.
“Europe went through the same thing. Those who studied economics thought mercantilism was the solution. It took the writings of Adam Smith to correct this, stressing the importance of division of labour, specialization, and exchange. Once that was understood, people began to wake up.”
“That is why this APR platform is important; it gives us the opportunity to exchange and refine our thinking.”
Looking ahead to the February session, Museveni identified market integration as a key theme.
“It will be good to audit in February, and I am sure market integration will be one of the ten points for discussion. If businesspeople don’t have a guaranteed market, how do they expand? That’s the problem in Latin America—it has more resources than the USA, but poor organization prevents success.”
He emphasized the importance of processing raw materials locally.
“Selling raw materials is a disaster. For every raw material you sell unprocessed, you are donating money and jobs. If you want copper, process it to 99.9% purity. Serve local industries and export the rest.”
On Africa’s industrial competitiveness, Museveni underlined the need to reduce costs:
“You must have low transport costs, low electricity costs, and affordable bank credit. Without these, how can manufacturing survive?”
He concluded by affirming Uganda’s readiness:
“I am very happy and looking forward to this responsibility.”
Amos Lugoloobi praised the timing of the preparations:
“These consultations come at the right time as we align with continental initiatives such as the rationalization of African credit rating agencies and the African Migration Governance Conference, already approved by Cabinet.”
He added that Kampala will become the APRM Capital once Museveni assumes chairmanship:
“We propose that during Uganda’s tenure, the Forum focuses on addressing the bottlenecks hindering social transformation—including weak infrastructure, governance gaps, and insecurity.”
“We look forward to significant milestones that will cement President Museveni’s legacy. With his leadership, we are certain the APRM will reach another level.”
