Tayebwa Urges Mineral-Rich Nations to Halt Raw Exports, Boost Local Processing

Uganda’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, has made a strong appeal to mineral-producing nations across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific to halt the export of raw minerals. Speaking at the ongoing Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, Tayebwa emphasized that member states must focus on building local processing industries.

He noted that while global demand for critical minerals is surging, developing robust local processing sectors requires reliable energy, advanced transport infrastructure, skilled labor, and accessible financing. Tayebwa highlighted that despite vast natural endowments—such as the Democratic Republic of Congo producing a massive share of the world’s cobalt, alongside significant resources in Uganda, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone—global investment in critical minerals has faced hurdles, including a reported 9% decline in investment globally.

Echoing similar sentiments, Tororo Municipality MP Shyam J Tanna challenged European partners to back Africa’s industrialization goals rather than prioritizing Europe’s own domestic processing and recycling targets under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. Tanna famously remarked that African nations “sleep on diamonds but wake up in poverty,” urging stakeholders to make value addition a central pillar of the continent’s development strategy.

In Uganda, the mining sector currently contributes approximately 2.2 percent to the gross domestic product, despite geological assessments placing the country’s mineral wealth between $4 trillion and $5 trillion. Under the Fourth National Development Plan, the government aims to elevate this economic contribution to 7.9 percent by the 2029/30 financial year by fostering local value addition and strengthening regulatory oversight.

Read the original story on the Daily Monitor.