Speaker Oboth Urges African Lawmakers to Prioritize Value Addition for Economic Sovereignty

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth has made a passionate call for African nations to shift away from exporting unprocessed raw materials. Speaking at the opening of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Region Capacity Development Seminar in Entebbe, Oboth stressed that true economic sovereignty remains out of reach as long as manufacturing, processing, and profits continue to benefit other regions.

The seminar, held under the theme ‘From Extraction to Transformation: Parliamentary Leadership in Securing Africa’s Resource Wealth for Sustainable Development’, runs from November 9 to November 13, 2026. According to Oboth, Africa’s main challenge is not a lack of natural wealth, but rather the inability to translate that wealth into sustainable prosperity for its citizens.

Addressing legislators from countries including South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda, the Speaker urged them to leverage their legislative, budgetary, and oversight responsibilities. He called for stricter scrutiny of extraction contracts, better enforcement of local content laws, and robust measures to plug loopholes that allow illicit financial flows.

Highlighting examples such as coffee and crude oil, Oboth noted that real economic benefits materialize only when resources are transformed into finished goods. He also pointed to Uganda’s ongoing government initiatives under President Yoweri Museveni, which promote local processing of agricultural goods and restrict the export of raw minerals to build domestic industries and jobs.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Chairperson of the CPA Uganda Branch, Hon. Naome Kabasharira, warned that illicit financial flows and profit shifting continue to drain vital resources needed for public services like healthcare and education. Delegates at the ongoing Entebbe seminar are expected to deliberate on these pressing governance issues throughout the week.

For more details, read the original report on the Parliament of Uganda.