Uganda’s President Museveni Urges Strategic Infrastructure Investments to Drive Continental Industrialization

Addressing heads of state, policymakers, and private sector titans at the high-level Africa We Build Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni delivered a firm mandate for continental transformation. The President called for an immediate shift away from fragmented projects toward an integrated, cross-border infrastructure approach to jumpstart Africa’s stagnant manufacturing sector.

Integrating the ‘Bone Marrow’ of the Economy

President Museveni emphasized that major public works like roads, railways, ports, and digital networks must never be treated as isolated assets. Instead, they must function collectively to strengthen what he termed the “bone marrow of the economy”—the foundational systems that directly power agriculture, industrial manufacturing, and small-to-medium enterprises.

The Ugandan leader warned against the long-standing practice of utilizing borrowed funds for recurrent government expenditures. He advocated that capital should be rigidly deployed into high-multiplier productive sectors, including regional fuel pipelines, massive electricity generation grids, and synchronized rail networks, which provide long-term economic resilience.

Eradicating the Raw Material Export Drain

A central pillar of the address focused heavily on industrial value addition. Museveni argued that Africa’s vast natural wealth and youthful population have historically been undermined by the systemic export of raw, unprocessed commodities. Local processing of critical continental assets—ranging from cotton and coffee to minerals and petroleum—is non-negotiable for creating local jobs and scaling national revenues.

To illustrate this direction, prominent Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote praised Uganda’s strict policy stance against raw commodity exportation, announcing potential collaborations to back regional refining capabilities across East Africa to echo the success of mega-refineries in West Africa.

Regional Cohesion and Market Integration

Addressing governance hurdles, President Museveni noted that political instability, weak state institutions, and sectarian politics continue to delay critical infrastructure pipelines. He called for unyielding national unity and strong security mechanisms as the baseline for any sustainable developmental blueprint.

Reaffirming Uganda’s dedication to cross-border cooperation, Museveni concluded by urging rapid optimization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework. He maintained that connecting regional transport corridors is vital to facilitate the seamless movement of intermediate goods, scale production, and build genuine economic independence across the continent.