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African leaders to adopt Museveni’s Identity paper as a guide on development
African leaders meeting in Nairobi, Kenya have agreed to use President Museveni’s paper on bottlenecks facing Africa’s development as a blueprint to guide the continent.
The decision was arrived at following President Museveni’s presentation at the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel on Friday where he explained the 10 bottlenecks to Africa’s growth and development. The meeting was chaired by the host, President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The motion to adopt the paper and task the APRM secretariat to expand it into a blueprint for the continent was moved by South African President Jacob Zuma. The proposal was unanimously supported. Earlier, both Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia) had also spoken in support of the presentation.
President Museveni told the meeting that he had arrived at the 10 bottlenecks after watching the development scene in Africa for 50 years.
“I have picked some ideas which are responsible for our lagging behind. The problem seems not to be addressing all issues in a comprehensive way,” he said.
The first bottleneck, said the President, was ideological disorientation, which had fanned vices like tribalism and sectarianism.
“A lot of chaos in Africa is because of misidentification. We need to ask, is identity more important than interests? Ask, who buys what you produce, is it your tribe’s mate or religious mate?”
Using his own example as a cattle-keeper, President Museveni explained that people consuming his products like milk and beef were not his fellow cattle-keepers since they have similar products but other Ugandans and East Africans.
“Therefore misdefinition of what is important has been a problem,” he said.
The second bottleneck, observed Mr Museveni, is a weak state exemplified in a weak army, adding that it is a result of the first obstacle.
“When you want to build an army and you look for people from your tribe, you should ask, can a sectarian army command the respect of a whole country? In such circumstances, when you get a small rebellion the army collapses. You then bring in the UN who are armed tourists.”
The President commended the international community for speaking about the third bottleneck; human resource under development. He, however, said the issue had been raised in isolation of the other bottlenecks.
Underdevelopment of infrastructure is the fourth bottleneck, said Mr. Museveni. He said many development partners were disinterested in building Africa’s infrastructure especially electricity.
“They do not care about dams, roads, and the railway. As a consequence, only South Africa and Libya under Gaddafi had high electricity consumption. Importantly, poor infrastructure causes very high costs of doing business. You can’t attract investments, how then do you eradicate poverty if people are not employed,” he asked.
Because of poor infrastructure, the next bottleneck is a failure to industrialize, the President said. This, he added, had forced Africa into exporting raw materials and ultimately donating a lot of revenue to the West. Citing the Ugandan example where a kilogram of unprocessed exported coffee goes for $1 while the processed coffee in the West fetches $14, President Museveni asserted that Africans were the real donors—and unfortunately were donating their jobs too.
The next bottleneck, according to the President, is fragmented markets, a product of colonialism.
“Colonialism cut Africa into small countries with small populations that are not developed enough to support production. Without a united market, you can’t attract investments.”
He commended African leaders for trying to bridge this gap by creating regional blocs and integration hence a bigger market.
Using the Ugandan case, he said the country was producing 2.2 billion litres of milk but consuming only 800 million, while it was taking in only one million tonnes of maize out of the four million.
“These two industries would collapse if we had no East African Community because that is where we sell the surplus,” he said, adding though that there were still forces fighting integration that must be dealt with decisively.
The seventh bottleneck is under-development of the services sector. President Museveni said this was partly because Africa has suffered bad publicity through wars, poor infrastructure, among others, compelling professionals to shun the continent. This, he said, had affected tourism, education, health, the banking sector among others.
The laissez-faire attitude that is crippling the agriculture sector in Africa, creating another bottleneck, must be fought, the President told the meeting. He said in the Tropics, many farmers were getting on with the minimum basic of producing for consumption (subsistence) and not commercial purposes. Coupled with this is the increasing fragmentation of land, making the land share diminish with successive generations.
“Agriculture must be modernized. We must talk of income security, not just food security. We should also agree with Egypt on the question of irrigation for other countries sharing the Nile.”
The other obstacle, according to the President, is undermining the private sector, adding that it has been persecuted through policy like Idi Amin did with the expulsion of Asians or through corruption. He noted that most Asian Tigers like Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea had developed through a private sector-led approach.
The last obstacle, President Museveni noted, was a democracy but added that most of Africa had addressed this and it was prevailing across the continent.
The APRM was held ahead of the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) that runs today (Saturday) and tomorrow at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
The internet has been abuzz following accusations leveled against Bruno Kiggundu, popularly known as Bruno K, over his alleged neglect of his son, Seth Kiggundu. In a tweet, a user identified as Keith alleged that Bruno K had abandoned his only son, Seth, and only pays attention to his daughter, Briella.
Keith claimed that Vanessa, his best friend, had a baby boy with Bruno K, and the singer had refused to fulfill his parental responsibilities towards Seth. He further accused Bruno of making Vanessa’s life difficult in 2022, which caused her to loathe the singer.
While it is essential to respect the baby’s privacy, it is crucial to hold public figures accountable for their actions, especially when they involve the welfare of children. The allegations against Bruno K are serious and should not be taken lightly.
Child abandonment is a severe issue that affects many children worldwide. It is a form of child neglect that can lead to adverse effects on a child’s development, including emotional and behavioral problems. Children who are abandoned by their parents may experience feelings of rejection, anger, and low self-esteem, which can lead to depression and anxiety.
As a public figure, Bruno K has a responsibility to set a good example for his fans and followers, especially young people. Neglecting one’s child is not only morally wrong but also illegal under Ugandan law. The Children’s Act of Uganda provides that every child has the right to parental care and protection, and any parent who neglects their child can be charged with child abuse.
It is not clear whether the allegations against Bruno K are true, but if they are, he should take responsibility for his actions and do the right thing for his son. Children need both parents to grow up happy and healthy, and neglecting one’s child is unacceptable.
In conclusion, the allegations against Bruno K are serious, and if true, they represent a worrying trend of child neglect in Uganda. As a society, we must hold public figures accountable for their actions and demand that they do the right thing for their children. Let us all strive to create a safe and nurturing environment for all children, regardless of their family background.
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Speaker Rt. Hon. Anita Among Orders Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi To Stop Making Excuses For Not Establishing The Tribunal
Speaker of parliament Rt. Hon. Anita Among has ordered the Minister of Information, Communications, Technology, and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi to stop making excuses for not establishing the tribunal which she said has been pending for a long.
The speaker’s order followed Dr. Chris Baryomunsi’s attribution of the delay to create the Uganda Communications Tribunal to the recent Cabinet decision on the rationalization of agencies.
The speaker of Parliament Among emphasized the need for the tribunal in place.
“We need a tribunal. How sure are you that we are going to rationalize [government agencies]? We want a tribunal in UCC; we cannot do ad-hoc kind of operations,” Among said.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Act makes provision for the creation of a tribunal that is supposed to handle complaints relating to the decisions of UCC as provided under Sections 60 and 64 of the Act.
“Work [to create a tribunal] was undertaken by my ministry but we are discussing it in the context of rationalization. The Executive is undertaking the rationalization exercise where agencies and departments are being reviewed and we couldn’t proceed to establish the tribunal. The cabinet cannot allow us to create new agencies,” Baryomunsi said. or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.
He said this during the Wednesday, 22 March 20223 plenary sitting where he tabled the Uganda Communications (Fees and Fines) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023.
The regulations provide for fees and fines to be paid by telecommunication and broadcasting companies for spectrum or frequency access in order to improve telecommunication services.
His response was prompted by the Leader of Opposition (LOP), Hon. Mathias Mpuuga who accused the minister of ‘sleeping on the job’ by failing to fulfill the provisions of the UCC Act in regard to the creation of the communications tribunal.
“We have raised severally in our alternative policies the question of the minister failing to appoint the UCC tribunal. The minister is now the tribunal; he is acting as the complainant, prosecutor, and judge at the same time. The Ministry [of ICT] is holding media houses at ransom with no recourse to this tribunal,” Mpuuga said.
The Speaker referred the Regulations to the Committee on ICT and National Guidance for scrutiny with a strong caution to UCC not to start collecting fees until Parliament approves the regulations.
Section 93 of the UCC Act, 2013 states that, ‘the minister may, after consultation with the Commission and with the approval of Parliament, by statutory instrument, make regulations for better carrying into effect the provisions of this Act’.
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Anti-gay Bill Will Impinge Upon Universal Human Rights, Jeopardize Progress In Fight Against HIV/AIDS In Uganda-White House
The White House and the European Union (EU) have joined the United Nations (UN) and other human rights groups in condemning the just passed Anti-homosexuality Bill.
The Bill that awaits assent from the president was passed by MPs on Tuesday night after a seven-hour heated session.
The bill introduces stricter penalties for people engaged in same-sex activities in Uganda including the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality.
It also proposes life in prison for the offense of “homosexuality” and up to 10 years in jail for attempted homosexuality.
Now White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre says the Bill is one of the most extreme laws targeting homosexuality in the world.
She warns that this will not only impinge upon universal human rights, jeopardize progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS but will also deter tourism and damage Uganda’s international reputation.
“We have great concerns with the passage of the Anti-homosexuality Act by the parliament of Uganda and increasing violence targeting LGBTQI+ persons,” Karine said.
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