Uganda’s deputy speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, has urged African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to set up mineral processing plants and retain more of the value from their exports.
Tayebwa, co-president of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States–European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly, chaired a session on cooperation in critical raw materials at the assembly in Brussels.
He said growing global demand for critical minerals gives producing countries a chance to build local industries, create skilled jobs and award contracts to local businesses. He cited the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt industry and pointed to mineral resources in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Burundi, Malawi, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
Tayebwa said investment in critical minerals had declined despite rising demand. He said local processing plants would need reliable power, good transport links, skilled workers and access to finance.
He urged legislators to scrutinise mining agreements, track what they cost the public and monitor how mineral revenues are spent. He said the agreements should protect workers and the environment, and that mining revenues should help fund public services. He also called on the Africa–EU and OACPS–EU working groups on critical raw materials to follow up on commitments.
Tororo Municipality MP Shyam J. Tanna called on European partners to offer affordable financing for mineral processing plants in Africa.
“We sleep on diamonds but wake up in poverty,” Tanna said.
He asked how the EU’s target of processing 40 per cent of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials within the bloc by 2030 would fit with Africa’s plans to build its own processing plants. He also asked whether Europe’s push to recycle more raw materials could affect demand for minerals processed in Africa.
