By King’s Office Correspondents
ENTEBBE, UGANDA: His Majesty King Mswati III has called for African countries to unite once again if they want to achieve total economic emancipation, just like they did when they demanded political freedom.
The King was responding to remarks by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni yesterday at Etete State House upon arriving in Uganda for his three-day State visit.
His Majesty, who is accompanied by Inkhosikati Make LaMashwama and three cabinet ministers: Foreign Affairs and International Corporation Pholile Shakantu, Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo and Home Affairs’ Princess Lindiwe, said political freedom was achieved because African countries were united.
“It is time, as African countries, we exploit fully the vast mineral resources at our disposal to turn our fortunes around.
Clearly, from the things we are able to produce by ourselves, it is time we share expertise, take advantage of the vast resources we have and start to dominate the economic space.
“The creation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) gives us that opportunity and we need to seize it with both hands,” the King said.
His Majesty said it is equally true that African countries struggle to get funds to support their programmes and it is frustrating to watch projects take forever before coming to fruition.
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The King made this call after President Museveni had called upon African countries, including Eswatini, to consider investing in Uganda’s recently discovered crude oil.
“Since we have discovered petroleum gas, we feel it is time we call upon our brothers and sisters in the continent to partner with us in this project.
They can invest in the pipeline and refinery while we take care of the crude oil. Petroleum space is a capital-intensive industry that requires a lot of money.
By ourselves, we cannot do much; hence, we are making
the call for our sisters and brothers to consider investing in Uganda’s oil sector,” he said.
The president said African countries can achieve a lot if they work together, exploiting their vast markets.
President Museveni also felt that to defend Africa’s gains, the continent needed to have a strong army in all four spaces, be it on land, navy, air force, and space.
“We need our big brother to come to the defence of those weaker states. We already see it playing itself out through some countries like the USA, which are seen as defenders of weaker nations. We need to think hard about that as African countries,” the president said.
The King said he appreciates the offer being made by the Ugandan President and in fact, in his recent visits to some oil-producing countries,
he discovered that they make a turnover in excess of four trillion US dollars and said such returns can do a lot for the continent’s Growth Domestic Product.
“Let’s work together. We need to promote entrepreneurs between the two countries. While here, I will visit some of your companies where you manufacture electric buses and several other products.
We can cooperate in that space and exploit market opportunities for the buses you produce here and in the future; look into opening an assembly plant in the southern part of the continent.
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Also, there is a lot we can exchange in terms of tourism and cultural exchanges. Given our rich cultural heritage, we can even consider doing a cultural carnival yearly to attract tourists in the process,” the King said.
INYATSI AFRICAN FOOTPRINT IMPRESSES KING
His Majesty the King has appreciated the good work being done by Inyatsi Construction, which has been awarded a multi-million Emalangeni tender to construct the Kabuyanda Earth Dam in Isingiro District here.
“The project is part of the irrigation for climate resilience. This is in line with the spirit of sharing expertise and jobcreation for our people.
It also embraces the many opportunities of collaborations we have between our countries, including the private sector, in ensuring that trade grows to the highest heights,” the King said in his prepared remarks.
He said Inyatsi, which has a presence in 11 other African countries, has delivered successful projects over its 42-year existence.
