President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged leaders in African countries to priotise industrialisation and Value addition on row materials which he says is the gateway to the prosperity of African Nations.
Currently Africa contributes 10.4% to continental GDP with just 2% of global manufacturing, yet with 1.25 billion people today, and 2.5 billion by 2030.
The Presidents remarks were presented today on his behalf by the Vice President of Uganda Maj Jessica Alupo to over 500 delegates attending the African Industrialization Day that was held in Kampala, 200 of them from the African Union.
“Uganda is now a net exporter of goods that it used to import in the last fifteen years. These range from steel, cement pharmaceuticals, paper, processed foods and diary products” The President
Maj Alupo was speaking at the climax of African Industrialization Week that was Hosted by the Government of Uganda.
The week-long activities organised by the Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives, the African Union and partners are running under the theme “Transforming Africa’s Economy through sustainable Industrialization, regional integration and innovation”.
President Museveni said that for Uganda and African countries to fully prosper, a number of challenges should be addressed and these include ideological disorientation, sectarianism of tribe and religion, non interference with private sectors, under developed infrastructure,quality roads and Railways, dealing with high transport costs and fragmented markets among others .
In her own remarks, the Vice President Alupo also emphasised the need to empower women as they also complement and persver in handling various tasks .
While speaking at the same event, the Minister of State for Trade Industry and Coperatives Gen Wilson Mbadi Mbasu said that trading across borders will broaden markets for African countries and champion integration.
He noted that Uganda’s progress is remarkable from 81 factories in 1986 to nearly 10,000 today, with manufacturing contributing 15.6% of GDP and exports worth $10.6B.
