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SOUTH AFRICA and UGANDALiasion for Development of Africaby James Brew (1,470 words)
ISouth African Foreign affairs analyst, Nick Synder, has stated that Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, is more of a strategic ally to South Africa's economic and political interests in the Great Lakes region than a rival. Museveni's visit to South Africa recently was significant in that it was the first formal contact between two countries that are both competing for influence on the continent and specifically in the Great Lakes Region (Central Africa). Museveni's talk about an "African reawakening" and South African deputy President Thabo Mbeki's notion of an "African renaissance," are signals that the two are both seeking to provide leadership to sub-Saharan Africa. While Uganda's 21 million people remain among the poorest in the world, President Museveni points to his country's regional role in a market of more than 200 million. The real tragedy, he says , is that the Sub-Saharan countries account for less than 5 percent of world trade. He has been instrumental in reviving the spirit of co-operation between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda that existed in the days of the East African Community. "In each country we need to have a common perception of problems and common goals for modernisation," he says. Creating an infrastructure between the sub-Saharan neighbours "is crucial to make integration a reality," he adds. The leaders of the two countries met in Cape Town just before this year's OAU meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe. They exchanged views on issues such as regional trade and economic integration, security and peace in Southern and Eastern Africa as well as bilateral relations between the two countries (themselves). "Trade is the best tool of development, and African countries should develop their joint markets rather than aspire to become associate members of the European Union. Industrialisation as a basis for the continent's renewal would succeed only if markets were integrated and enlarged through regional co-operation," says President Yoweri Katuga Museveni. The two countries find themselves in two competing trade blocs, Uganda in the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) and South Africa in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Ugandan leader is seeking one common market covering the vast area from Uganda to the Southern tip of Africa, with the two bodies continuing as sub-regional blocs focused on smoothing the way for road and rail links vital to inter-regional trade. South Africa exports to East Africa's three leading economies(Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) have more than quadrupled between 1993 and last year, surging from R337-million to R1,41-billion. Kenya is the largest importer of SA goods with R731-million last year followed by Tanzania (R555-million) and Uganda(127-million from R8,4-million). South Africa is believed to have asked Museveni to sign up as a new SADC partner. An agreement had been reached on a summit between SADC and Comesa, which has lost importance as SADC (through the SA-European Union trade talks) is set to flourish. According to SA trade officials, many business opportunities exist for SA companies in Uganda. These are in the areas of mining and industrial equipment, intermediate goods, power generation and distribution, telecommunication, building and civil construction. Trade and finance officials from the two countries are discussing lifting restrictions on the free flow of capital between the two countries and have signed an agreement to avoid double taxation on investments by each other's companies. Uganda Finance Minister, Joeash Mayanja-Nkangi, says his country was keen to attract SA investment and to enhance trade between the two countries. As a producer of coffee, timber, and freshwater fish, the country was looking for investment in food, fibre and other processing plants. Severe drought conditions aside, a combination of good rainfall very recently and rich soil have helped Uganda to become Africa's biggest coffee producer. A successful coffee industry is essential to the well-being of the country's economy, accounting for 70 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Uganda has an area of 370,000 hectares dedicated to coffee cultivation, 500,000 small-holder farms and 266 million trees. Ugandan authorities are attributing the notable upward trend in coffee production to the liberalization of the industry. Farmers and primary buyers are now paid cash in advance or on delivery for their coffee, and farmers earnings have risen from 20 percent to about 60 percent of world prices. Unlike coffee, tea accounts for only a small part of Uganda's export earnings-but production is rising steadily. The Uganda Tea Authority hopes to raise the harvest to 20 million kg this year, from 17 million kg last year, through investment. By the end of this year, a small percentage of Uganda's coffee will be turned into the instant variety. This is just the sort of small-scale business that Minister of Trade and Industry, Henry Kajura wishes to encourage. "If you look at agriculture, it is very rich with big potential and we are trying to encourage investors to go into agro-industry. Anything can grow here," he says. ver the past five years the Uganda Investment Authority claims that more than 2000 applications have been approved, representing potential investment of more than 32 billion dollars and the creation of more than 130,000 new jobs. The Museveni government is still in a transitional stage says Kajura, because it is divesting itself of state enterprises which it feels would be better run by the private sector, while at the same time it has to support them until they are sold. Development of industry would be geared initially towards reducing imports of certain products to eliminate the trade deficit, which has widened to half a billion dollars a year. Uganda's agro-industries, mining and financial sector will benefit immensely from South Africa's technical expertise. Improved co-operation between the two countries would not only benefit the private sector but also remove suspicions on political issues. Uganda opposed South Africa on the question of a multi-party transitional authority in Congo. Museveni is understood to favour a three year transitional government before elections. "Compared to the the rest of the countries that border Congo-Kinshasa, some of whom suffered from the lack of peace and stability in Congo, South Africa had a low-cost but high profiled visibility involvement in the Congo crisis. South Africa's agressive involvement in the Zaireian peace initiative and Museveni's backing of Kabila were merely coincidental. It is therefore important, that, as a major role player in the Great Lakes region, Museveni's government and his SA politicians consult each other regularly to minimise misunderstanding. SA has put together a task team to visit the Congo and assess the potential to help there. Mandela went to the OAU meeting in Harare mainly to discuss with Kabila possible SA assistance in rebuilding his country. It is necessary for Uganda and SA to co-ordinate their technical and material resources to the Congo. Already, Uganda is discussing with the European Union for soft loans to finance a major highway between that country's capital, Kampala, and Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On broader regional issues, the two leaders discussed the civil war in Sudan. Uganda supports the rebel movement, Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army, whose leader, John Garang de Mabior, studied with Museveni at Dar-es Salaam University. On the other hand, General Omar Hassan Ahmed el Beshir's government also gives assistance to the fundamentalist Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by John Kony. For over three years, Khartoum's help for the LRA has grown. LRA fighters have shed their rags for combat uniforms and sport sophisticated weapons. They have been planting landmines at a surprising rate. Museveni appointed his half-brother, Major-General Salim Saleh, to take over northern operations.in Uganda. Saleh was Chief of Staff, he retired on health grounds in 1989 to command the National Reserve Force but has since recovered. He is highly influential in military circles and keeps contacts with Rwandan defence minister and former chief of UDF military intelligence, General Paul Kagame, his old staff officer. He is still seen as the most powerful military figure apart from Museveni and wants tougher action against the LRA. Saleh runs a lucrative oil and military procurement business through Branch Energy, which has strategic links with South African based security consultancy, Executive Outcomes. Branch Energy bankrolled the recent arms imports from South Africa. Saleh holds 25 percent shares, while Executive Outcomes holds 40 percent shares in the company. Saleh, who also owns the cargo handling company at Entebbe airport, has shares in a helicopter charter company and recently bought the country's most profitable parastal, the Ugandan Grain milling Company. The links between South Africa and Uganda are thus
multi-functional encompassing not only economic areas of
discussion such as trade and markets, but also strategic
discussions revolving around political peacemaking and
military cooperation. If these links remain and are
reinforced through constructive dialogue it may be that
these two giants of Africa could assist in seeing an
African Renaissance transpire into a visible reality and
no longer a mere ideal.
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