Oulanyah rallies African Americans to restore ties with Africa

African-Americans have been tasked to re-evaluate their links with the continent and restore the hopes of those in need.

The call was made by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah in his address to delegates at the Reset America Reset Africa Conference in St. Louis Illinois on April 14 2017.

Oulanyah reaffirmed the need for nations to repair the old bridges of cooperation damaged by policies and wars.

"We come here as bridge builders. We need to repair the old bridges of humanity damaged through policies and state relationships. We need to change our attitude and give hope to those in need," he told delegates.

The Speaker noted that although States had built walls to separate people, the blood that joins humanity has always prevailed to bring peace. He attributed wars and conflicts to the absence of hope for the marginalized.

Oulanyah rallied the local communities in St. Louis to consider investment in Africa.

"Uganda is one of the blessed countries in the world. It's the source of the Nile but also provides innumerable opportunities for investment," he added.

In a separate meetings with Emeka Jackson Hicks, the Mayor of the City of East St. Louis, Oulanyah noted the need for technical expertise to enable Kampala city adopt a community based approach to development.

The Parliament delegation that included MPs Jacob Oboth Oboth (West Budama County South), Fred Mwesigye (Nyabushozi County), Abiriga Abdallah (Arua Municipality), Macho Geoffrey (Busia Municipality) and Aisha Ssekindi (Kalungu) explored opportunities for cooperation with St. Elizabeth Hospital and Harris Stowe University.