For a man who preaches 'modernisation, President Museveni could easily feel
out of place among fellow African leaders - whom he has described as
backward.
Opening the fourth Mayors' World Future Councils (WFC) conference at
Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort on Wednesday Museveni suggested most of his
colleagues were holding their economies back.
"Most African leaders and fellow Africans are backward because of their
tendencies in developing their countries. Europeans can't tell you this
because they are polite yet we can't continue going on like that," Museveni
said.
The three-day conference, the first in Africa, runs on the theme: "Making
the case for regeneration of urban development: a guiding framework for
urbanizing East Africa." It is attended by diplomats and mayors from East
Africa and other continents.
Museveni said USA, with 320 million people on three million square miles, is
developed because it injects most of its resources in industries and hotels.
He said in USA only two per cent of the population engages in commercial
agriculture.
"How do you know a country is backward? One reason is having more people in
the agricultural sector than in industries; secondly when you have more
people in rural than in urban areas, you qualify to be backward. Judge
yourselves and know where you fall. Do not forget that you must have more
people in town supported by industries," Museveni said amidst ululations.
The president said he had had trouble explaining to some of his "backward
ministers and civil servants here" that whereas a factory on one acre can
employ 2,000 to 3,000 people, the same area in agriculture can only employee
one person.
"In Economics, supporting agriculture more than industries is referred to as
disguised employment. It is high time sleeping African leaders who don't buy
this strategy woke up because the last time I inquired about the income of
Sheraton hotel, I was told it generates $15m profit a year on its small
land, which money cannot be generated from ten acres of agriculture,"
Museveni said.
Museveni also attacked land fragmentation that often ensues when the head of
family dies.
"When somebody dies and goes to hell, paradise or wherever, the heir should
keep the land intact, the second orphan should join the army and the third
one should become a priest and wait for their shares from there. Keep the
land together as a family and sleep on top of the other if possible but
fragmenting the land is a stupid idea," added Museveni.
Museveni ended his speech at 8:18pm and declined an invitation from KCCA
spokesperson Peter Kaujju to join other guests for a cocktail, saying he was
not into cocktails. In her speech, KCCA Executive Director Jennifer Musisi
thanked Museveni for supporting City Hall in the last three years.