America owes Africa - Mugabe
COMMON INTERESTS: East and Southern African leaders after opening the COMESA
summit at the International Conference Centre in Kampala. (Front, L-R) Levi Mwanawasa
(Zambia), Dr Atef Ebied (Egypt), King Mswati (Swaziland), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe),
Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Omar el Bashir (Sudan), Kenneth Kaunda (Ex-president,
Zambia), Mwai Kibaki (Kenya) and Bingu Wamutharika (Malawi). (Back from forth
left-right) Pierre Bemba (vice-president, DR Congo), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Ismael
Guelleh (Djibouti)
By Felix Osike
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe yesterday said Africa deserves more from the
US than the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) under which selected African
countries can export tax and quota-free items.
Mugabe was speaking at the commissioning of the second Apparels Tri-Star (U) Ltd
factory at Bugolobi in Kampala. President Yoweri Museveni commissioned it.
Tri-Star, which was set up in 2002, exports garments to the United States of
America.
Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki hailed the company for pioneering the export of
Ugandan garments to the American market, saying it was an eye opener to other
countries.
The presidents arrived at the factory at 1:00pm. The Tri-Star managing director,
Vellipillai Kananathan, took them around the old and new factories. The new unit
covering 5,000sq. metres, will start production on Thursday and employ 800 girls.
"I feel delighted to be associated with this project emerging from the
opportunity presented by AGOA.
But America deserves to do more. They have a debt to pay us. Most of our people
were taken to America as slaves. We deserve more than AGOA," said Mugabe, attracting
applause.
"Let Apparel take advantage of this opportunity to expand a hundredfold. Let it
fly the flag of Uganda and Africa higher and higher and demystify the myth that Africa
cannot do anything. We can do it, we are doing it as Tri-Star has demonstrated and we
have done it," Mugabe said.
Kananathan said the company plans to set up a state-of-the-art spinning mill by
January next year.
He said they would open mini-production units outside Kampala and penetrate
European markets.
Like President Museveni has said before, Mugabe said the Tri-Star project was a
pointer to the need for Africa to add value to local products before exporting them.
Mugabe said genuine governance is about transforming society qualitatively. He
said the project would give farmers a double reward of a high price for cotton and
employment for their children.
He said Africa had been the leading producer of cotton but it is countries like
Britain which benefit.
"Do you know whom we sell the raw materials to?" he asked. "To Mr. Blair of
England, for Mr. Blair to dress better than I do, spin the cotton, weave and make
suits and we go and buy the suits from Britain. This must stop," Mugabe said.
He took a swipe at the West for what he called retributive sanctions aimed at
crippling his nation.
"I am happy to say the land reforms we embarked upon are near completion and we
are beginning to recover our economy and our sovereignty and put Zimbabweans on their
destiny. Our land, which had all along been occupied by foreigners, has finally come
back to its owners," he said.
Ends
Published on: Tuesday, 8th June, 2004
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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