Museveni rallies Commonwealth speakers to abandon neo-colonial practices

Museveni was Thursday, January 4 addressing the gathering of speakers and presiding officers of the Commonwealth Parliament convened by the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Anita Among, at the Commonwealth Speakers Conference (CSPOC24) at the Commonwealth Resort in Munyonyo, Kampala.

Emphasizing the need for Africa to chart its development course, President Museveni underscored the constraints imposed by inherited foreign policies, advocating for a shift toward solving internal challenges rather than perpetuating dependency on external solutions.

"Africa lags behind due to the inherited foreign policies of colonialists," he said, urging a focus on homegrown solutions to drive advancement.

The President urged the Commonwealth Parliament to spearhead the transformation of their nations by discarding neo-colonial ideologies and embracing technology. While acknowledging the contentious legacy of imperialism, he advocated for embracing the positive remnants of colonialism while breaking away from its detrimental aspects.

"Although imperialism was satanic in nature, it inadvertently gave birth to the Commonwealth, uniting 2.4 billion people. This collective population can serve as a catalyst for the development of nations within the Commonwealth," he articulated.

Echoing these sentiments, Speaker Anita Among emphasized the conference's focal points encompassing youth and gender, health, security, environment, human rights, the rule of law, democratic expansion, and the enhancement of parliamentary debate quality.

She expressed gratitude to President Museveni for facilitating the conference, characterizing the event as a pivotal milestone in the nation's legislative history.

With 33 out of 43 confirmed speakers in attendance, the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth Parliaments, scheduled until January 6 represents a collaborative effort toward driving progressive changes and fostering deeper intra-Commonwealth cooperation.

Among the speakers and presiding officers of the commonwealth parliament present are those of the Dominican Republic, Botswana, Ghana, Granada, Guyana, India, Kenya, The Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Singapore, Samoa, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Tonga, Uganda and Zambia.