Museveni, Ramaphosa Seek For Pan-African Approaches To Local Problems

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni this week visited South Africa on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s invitation, reportedly to create “strong political and economic cooperation”.

Discussions between the two chiefs of state included political, economic, regional, continental, and global problems.
Yet given the backdrop of the visit, which included a business conference with businesspeople from both nations, it was obvious from away that pan-Africanism was at the top of the list of priorities.

The purpose of the visit and the business conference was to advance economic connections and diplomatic contacts under the pan-Africanist banner, which was often mentioned by both presidents, towards a more united African continental commerce and geopolitical alignment.

While the South African president admitted that “there remains an imbalance in South Africa’s favor,” the two nations’ trade ties “continue to expand from strength to strength,” it stated in a statement on the visit.

trading companion

The second-most significant commercial relationship in East Africa after Kenya is Uganda, which ranks as South Africa’s fifteenth-largest trading partner on the continent.

Presently, Uganda exports fresh flowers, cotton, gold, tobacco, fish fillets, and coffee to South Africa.

Museveni talked explicitly about important resources, such as uranium and lithium, as prospective exports, probably to South Africa, when he mentioned his prohibition on non-beneficiated raw materials.

The leaders claimed to have spoken “extensively” to guarantee that the continent’s conflicts are resolved and that Africans in conflict-ridden areas may once again live in peace.

“The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was discussed, as well as Ethiopia and our collective efforts to end hostilities. We have also taken a close look at the peace processes in other regions of our continent, and we remain steadfast in our solidarity with Western Sahara, which is still working to achieve peace, ” Ramaphosa added.

inadequate representation of Africans

Ramaphosa lamented the fact that there was still no permanent representative for Africa on the UN Security Council as another example of the inadequate representation of Africa in international fora.

In the fight against colonialism and apartheid, President Ramaphosa thanked the people of Uganda for their support of South Africa’s liberation.

President Museveni played along, claiming that “neoliberalism” had failed and referring to the ruling African National Congress of South Africa, which was founded in 1912, as the first of the continent’s anti-colonial liberation movements. The Ugandan leader claimed to have joined this movement in the late 1960s.

In response to a query from a local journalist, Ramaphosa said that his government and the ANC were “fiercely pan-African,” alluding to South Africa’s deployments of troops and humanitarian supplies there.

rights of people

Ramaphosa said, “We are quite happy to have a pan-Africanist like President Museveni coming.

President Museveni responded negatively to a question about human rights in Uganda by referring to “terrorists slaughtering defenseless peasants,” but he added that Uganda has its own human rights safeguards.

Foreign opinions noted President Museveni’s ties to pan-Africanism in general and the ANC specifically as the leading advocate of freedom for Africans.

According to presidential advisors, the mission of uniting Africans into a broad coalition for improved trade and political cohesion on the international stage was the logical extension of Ramaphosa’s larger ambitions for the continent for the South African leader, who recently also met with his Kenyan counterpart.

global economic player

Ramaphosa has promoted domestic and inter-state policies to support Africa’s rise as a major player in the global economy, with the goal of exporting finished goods rather than just raw materials, as well as on the international political stage, where the continent as a whole could benefit from its “non-aligned” status.

Presently, Uganda exports fresh flowers, cotton, gold, tobacco, fish fillets, and coffee to South Africa.

Museveni talked particularly about important resources like uranium and lithium as prospective exports, probably to South Africa, when he mentioned his prohibition on non-beneficiated raw materials.

Both leaders discussed potential avenues that have been explored, such as electric vehicles and the lithium-ion batteries that power them, suggesting a line of potential direct future trade development and cooperation that would do away with the need for raw material beneficiation outside of the continent, which is currently the norm for the majority of Africa’s major export commodities.

2021 saw a total of $114.5 million in commerce between the two nations, with South Africa importing $14.8 million from Uganda and exporting $99 million to that country.

Museveni made it plain that he was thinking strategically when he mentioned certain commodities like lithium and uranium as being plausible candidates for direct commerce with South Africa, free of “third party” interference.

The latest figures from the World Bank show that Uganda exports a total of $4.149 billion yearly, while its imports are around $8.251 billion.

At the level of economic relations, Ramaphosa’s invitation to Museveni was seen as an attempt to make up for that step backwards and to forge a more united African stance against the main trading blocs of the globe.

worldwide crisis

Dealing with international issues like the situation in Ukraine and rising conflicts in Africa, such as in the eastern Congo and the western Sahara, was another aspect of the presidential gathering.

A “negotiated conclusion” to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is something Kyiv has ruled out “until all Russians are off all Ukrainian land,” including occupied Crimea and other Ukrainian regions in that country’s east. South Africa is one of the African nations moving toward Moscow in this regard.

Before and after their face-to-face conversations and later in their presentations to business executives, both presidents made statements and prepared remarks about increased commerce and more coherent Afrocentric geopolitics.

The strong political and economic ties between our two nations have been strengthened by this state visit, according to Ramaphosa, who made the official comments. “Through strengthening these ties, we want to improve the lives of our people and continue on the fight against inequality, unemployment, and poverty.”

Trade disparity

Ramaphosa highlighted the difficulties facing trade and investment at the moment, notably a significant trade deficit. He said that some of those issues were being addressed, nevertheless, with slow but steady progress.

A number of memoranda were signed, including ones on industrial development cooperation between South Africa and the Uganda Development Corporation, Uganda Development Bank Limited, as well as on tourism, transportation, information and communication technologies, prisons, women, youth, and people with disabilities.

The execution of previous agreements between the two nations has “noticed remarkable progress,” according to Ramaphosa.

A “testament to our increasing connections,” he noted, the different MoUs that had been inked.

Ramaphosa emphasized that he was anxious to promote bilateral investment with appropriate investor safeguards, with South Africa staying excited about Uganda’s banking, retail, and telecommunications industries.