Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Sunday, November 5, that the United States “overestimated” their importance after Washington announced that it would withdraw Uganda (along with the Central African Republic, Gabon and Niger) from a major trade agreement, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), from January due to violations of human rights.
This text on growth and economic opportunities in Africa, which dates from 2000, allows African countries to export many products to the United States without customs duties. This preferential commercial treatment is, however, subject to a series of conditions in terms of political pluralism, respect for human rights, the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
In a letter to Congress, US President Joe Biden accused the Ugandan government of human rights violations, at the center of strong criticism from human rights groups, the UN and Western countries since the adoption in May of a text called “anti-homosexuality law 2023”.
But Yoweri Museveni on Sunday asked Ugandans to “not to be too concerned about the recent actions of the US government to discourage its companies from investing in Uganda and the removal of Uganda from the AGOA list”. “Some of these actors in the Western world overestimate themselves and underestimate the freedom fighters in Africa”he continued on X (formerly Twitter). “We have the capacity in Uganda to succeed in our growth and our transformation objectives, even if certain actors do not support us”estimated the president.
One of his senior advisers, Odrek Rwabwogo, indicated on Wednesday that the government remained open to discussions with Washington, believing that this exclusion would cause suffering “Ugandan farmers and small business owners”. “Even though Uganda’s trade through AGOA was insignificant, the growth of our exports to the United States and other partners was an important pillar of our economic strategy”underlined Odrek Rwabwogo.
As soon as the “anti-homosexuality law” was adopted, Joe Biden called for its immediate repeal and threatened to reduce American aid and investments in Uganda. The text provides for heavy penalties for people having homosexual relations and committing ” promotion “ of homosexuality. In August, the World Bank announced the suspension of new loans to Uganda.