Gambiaj.com – (BRUSSELS, Belgium) – Uganda’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, has called on African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries to stop exporting raw minerals and instead prioritize local processing and industrialization, arguing that value addition is essential for creating jobs, boosting government revenues, and driving sustainable economic transformation.
Speaking on Friday during the 121st Session of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) Council of Ministers at Egmont Palace in Brussels, Belgium, Tayebwa said developing countries would remain trapped in poverty if they continued exporting unprocessed natural resources while importing finished products.
“Exporting unprocessed minerals is, in effect, exporting jobs, industries, and wealth. We must process our minerals at source, build regional value chains, and manufacture higher-value products if we are to create employment, increase revenue, and transform our economies,” Tayebwa told delegates.
Value Addition as a Development Strategy
Tayebwa, who serves as President of the OACPS and co-president of the OACPS-European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly, urged member states to place trade, industrialization, and value addition at the center of their economic development strategies.
He echoed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s long-held position that Africa cannot achieve lasting prosperity by exporting raw materials while depending on imports of finished goods.
According to Tayebwa, Africa possesses an estimated $29.5 trillion worth of mineral resources but continues to lose significant economic value because much of its mineral wealth is exported in raw or minimally processed form.
He said the practice has deprived the continent of opportunities to develop manufacturing industries, create skilled employment, and increase export earnings.
Regional Manufacturing Needed
The Deputy Speaker called on African nations to establish domestic mineral processing plants and strengthen regional manufacturing value chains capable of producing semi-finished and finished products instead of exporting raw commodities for processing abroad.
He pointed to the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example of how local cobalt processing has helped increase national revenues. Uganda, he added, has also made progress in promoting value addition in the gold sector, demonstrating that investment in local processing can enable developing countries to capture greater value from their natural resources.
“This should inspire a collective shift across the African, Caribbean, and Pacific towards policies that promote mineral beneficiation, industrialization, and economic transformation,” Tayebwa said.
Making OACPS More Relevant
Tayebwa argued that industrialization should become a central pillar of cooperation among OACPS member states if the organization is to remain relevant to its more than one billion citizens.
“For years, we have spoken about making the OACPS more relevant to our citizens. But we cannot achieve that unless we focus on practical issues that directly improve livelihoods,” he said.
The OACPS comprises 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific and works with international partners, including the European Union, on trade, investment, sustainable development, and climate change.
Tayebwa said stronger cooperation among member states could accelerate industrial growth through expanded regional markets, technology transfer, and increased investment in manufacturing.
Growing Demand for Critical Minerals
His remarks come as many African countries intensify efforts to retain more value from critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, graphite, rare earth elements and gold, which are increasingly sought after for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies and digital infrastructure.
Tayebwa said the growing global demand for these resources presents a major opportunity for OACPS countries to transform their economies by prioritising industrialisation over the continued export of raw commodities.
He urged member states to move beyond years of discussion and adopt concrete policies that promote local value addition, saying industrialisation is no longer a choice but a necessity for achieving sustainable development and shared prosperity.
Leave a Reply