President Yoweri Museveni delivered a bold message at the 8th African Leadership Forum in Munyonyo today declaring that Africa’s sustainable development is impossible without radical economic and ideological transformation.
Speaking before a gathering of former African heads of state including Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, Moncef Marzouki of Tunisia, and Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia.
“While opening the 8th African Leadership Forum at Munyonyo today, I emphasised that Africa cannot achieve sustainable development without a deliberate process of economic and ideological transformation. I reminded delegates that even before independence, Africa’s primary challenge was the lack of political power. After gaining independence, many countries descended into chaos due to weak states and a lack of purposeful politics.”
Museveni traced Africa’s struggles from colonial disempowerment to post-independence chaos insisting that weak governance and lack of “purposeful politics” have held the continent back.
The president outlined Uganda’s economic evolution through six phases including minimum recovery, economic expansion, diversification, value addition, knowledge economy and now a focus on science and innovation, including vaccine production.
“Therefore, when we discuss sustainable development, we refer to building a new economy driven by transformation.” Museveni asserted.
Museveni argues that political freedom alone does not deliver prosperity that is why many African nations collapsed into coups, corruption, and civil wars after independence and weak states failed because they lacked clear economic visions. Uganda’s shift from aid dependency to industrialization was highlighted as a model.
The summit featured high-profile dialogues with former leaders discussing democracy, conflict resolution and pan-African trade.
Kikwete emphasized youth employment while Marzouki warned against “recycled dictatorships” disguised as development.
