Africa must unite to prosper: Museveni

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has said that Africa must unite to guarantee the prosperity of its people and its strategic security.

“The Africans will wake up because they have no alternative. Pan Africanism which was being pushed by our elders Julius Nyerere, Kenyatta, Modibal Keita, Seko Ture, etc, must be made clear to all the people you talk to,” Museveni said.

The President was meeting with the Executive Council of the Global Pan-African Movement led by Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, the Minister of Internal Affairs at State House, Entebbe on Monday. Otafiire is also the global chairman of the organisation.

Museveni called on the Global Pan-African Movement to spread the gospel based on three issues; prosperity, strategic security and unity of the African people. “If you want to have a modern life, you must have a more active trade. Therefore, you need Uganda, East Africa and Africa. What will help you to widen the market for you is the Pan-African market,” he said.

With a united Africa, Museveni said, the continent can negotiate more with the external markets. “Please unite because you are linked. And we have Kiswahili, which is a neutral language,” Museveni said. He promised to support the upcoming Pan-African Congress to be held in Uganda in 2024.

For his part, Otafiire said that the congress was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world and the unwillingness of some member states to organize it. “The governing council has decided to have it again…The council is now here to plan for the next congress, which will be in Uganda in 2024,” Otafiire said.

“We are presenting to you a budget as the patron. We request you to get involved actively in the preparation,” he said. The meeting was attended by delegates from Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Togo among others.

*****

URN