Museveni says Africa needs socio-economic transformation
Apr 30, 2024
Speaking in Nairobi, he also said there is no growth in Africa because growth factors like private sector-led growth are not funded.
President Yoweri Museveni with his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto at the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA)- Africa Heads of State summit in Kenya. (Photos by PPU)oto)
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President Yoweri Museveni has said Africa needs socio-economic transformation to develop.
“Africa does not need that sustainable underdevelopment; Africa needs socio-economic transformation. You cannot have quantitative growth and you think you are doing anything,” he said Monday in Kenya's capital Nairobi.
He was addressing the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA)- Africa Heads of State summit.
The IDA is a development finance institution that offers concessional loans and grants to low-income countries.
It is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, DC.
In his delivery, Museveni also underlined the need for loans that propel prosperity.
He further attributed the current crisis in Africa to persistent philosophical, ideological, and strategic economic mistakes that have been in place since the 1960s.
He advocated for the need to focus on achieving qualitative change.
"When you see the crisis in many African countries, the collapse of the State, we predicted this in the 1960s," said Museveni.
"But I was very happy to hear the President of the World Bank talking about prosperity instead of profiteering. These were his own words. This has been the problem; aid has been for profiteering.
"The World Bank people and other groups have been talking about sustainable development, even in your document I have seen those words there.
"I'm now going to be 80 years old. I have never seen a sustainable pregnancy; that a woman is pregnant this year, the pregnancy continues next year, three years and four years, it never happens,” he added.
“In life, pregnancy develops sustainably in the womb of the woman quantitatively. The baby is growing bigger and bigger but at some stage, quantitative growth must be transformed into qualitative change. The pregnancy must become a baby. If the pregnancy remains a pregnancy, the fetus will die. Therefore, I would even ask you to change those words in your documents.”
Museveni is the current chairman of both the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77+China.
Speaking in Nairobi, he also said there is no growth in Africa because growth factors like private sector-led growth are not funded.
“For the private sector to grow, it needs low-cost production in transport, electricity, and low-cost funding for manufacturing.
“If you are serious, talk about low-cost funding for manufacturing and funding for irrigation to stabilise agriculture. A loan for seminars is very quick to get but for agriculture is hard to get," said the Ugandan leader.
He informed delegates that one time he tried to look for foreign funding to help Ugandans join the money economy, but he failed because the available funding had conditions.
He said he ended up using Uganda's limited financial resources to kick off the Parish Development Model (PDM) initiative.
“Uganda is a very rich country but one of the problems we were having is that most people were outside the money economy. They were only producing for eating so I was looking for money to give coffee seedlings to this group so that they can start producing for the economy, but I could not get money from anybody because the loans are for capacity building. But we funded it ourselves. 
"Each year we spend $300 million (sh1.14 trillion) of our own to make these villagers join the money economy by producing for the stomach and the pocket.”
In his speech, the Ugandan President also pointed out the challenge of neo-colonialist civil servants who talk about money for import support that undermines the economic development of any African country.
“But I don't want to import, I want to export. Why don't you talk to me about import substitution and export promotion?"
Museveni also reiterated the need for Africa to stop exporting its raw materials and instead add value at source to steer development.
“This haemorrhage of Africa must stop. The crisis you see in Africa is because of stagnation of the last 60 years, since independence. The population is increasing and yet the economies are not."
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