President Yoweri Museveni delivered a bold call for Africa’s economic transformation today at the 11th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), challenging African nations to shed colonial-era economic structures and embrace industrialization, job creation, and deeper continental integration.
Tracing Uganda’s journey from a plundered enclave economy under Idi Amin to its present drive for knowledge-based growth, President Museveni declared, “We moved from the economy of the 3Ts and 3Cs—tobacco, tea, tourism, coffee, cotton, and copper—that were looted by Idi Amin, to a diversified, value-added economy. Now we are making vaccines and automobiles. The solutions are with us.”
The forum, being held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, has attracted leaders, experts, and civil society from across Africa under the theme: “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 through inclusive green growth.”
Museveni stressed that the continent’s progress is blocked by ten strategic bottlenecks, and overcoming them requires vision and urgency.
“Uganda has 40 million acres suitable for agriculture. If we use just 7 million acres, and each of us creates seven jobs, we shall have over 100 million jobs,” he stated, adding that opportunities extend far beyond farming. “Jobs are not only in agriculture—we have industries, services, and ICT.”
The Ugandan leader did not mince words about the continent’s need to evolve socially and economically.
“How can we have a peasant producing another peasant? The peasant must disappear and we get other classes,” Museveni asserted, drawing applause from delegates.
He concluded his keynote with a rallying cry for unity: “Everything we can do and will do relies heavily on African integration.” Citing the need for shared markets, innovation, and industrial policy, he urged African countries to work together or risk stagnation.
The ARFSD, organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and hosted by Uganda, continues through April 11. It provides a platform to evaluate Africa’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, with a strong focus on inclusive growth, climate resilience, and science-based policy-making.
