Henry Mukasa
15 June 2009
Kampala — THE President has criticised European countries and the United States for their policy of protectionism, which blocks African countries from accessing their markets.
"We are ready to liberate the world from bad food," Museveni declared while opening the fifth Africa-Asia Business Forum at Speke Resort, Munyonyo yesterday.
He amused the over 250 delegates from 25 countries when he said fruits he had eaten in the US and Europe tasted terribly.
"When I was in the US, I was given what these people called pineapple. When I put it in the mouth, you could feel the urea in the pineapple," Museveni said with a cringed face.
"Now that you are here, you should discover what a pineapple tastes like."
He urged Europeans and Americans to pressurise their leaders to open up their markets for African agricultural products.
"You should put pressure on your governments to stop business protectionism. Its kills business and makes you eat bad food. That will be good news to Africa and we shall be able to export good products to you."
Describing himself as a milk and beef producer, Museveni noted that while his fresh beef costs only $1.5 (sh3,500) per kilo the same type, termed as kobe beef in Japan, costs $200 (sh420,000).
"I asked what is kobe beef? They told me, 'you get a cow, play music for it, massage it and give it some alcohol," Museveni narrated as the delegates roared with laughter. "I found out that after all that, you don't get better beef than my beef."
The Japanese State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Seiko Hashimoto, who was seated next to the President, listened attentively.
While the world is gripped by the global economic crisis, Uganda and Africa are doing well, Museveni told the gathering of Asians, Europeans and Americans.
"Within Africa business is booming. Why? It is obvious that Europeans and Asians have been over-consuming. We have been under-consuming. In Africa there are plenty of opportunities, in your place opportunities are exhausted."
He pointed out that Africa's potential was under-utilised. "In Uganda we have a lot of food. Our problem is where to sell the food. In the villages, bananas are thrown away."
Museveni further noted that tourism, the theme of the conference, is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, with 900 million tourists crisscrossing the world every year.
He cited as Uganda's tourist attraction its cultural heritage and rich nature, noting that the country is endowed with 1,000 bird species, 67% of Africa's bird collection.
He recalled that in the 1960s, Africa was a leading tourist destination but subsequent years of turmoil ruined infrastructure, kept tourists away and left animals being hunted to near extinction. Under his Government, he noted, tourism is one of the core sectors in the five-year development plan.
The Japanese minister called for the promotion of tourism as a priority to beat the effects of the global turndown.
She said the FIFA world cup, to be held in South Africa in 2010, is another opportunity to market the continent.
Safety and sanitation were the two most important aspects tourists pay attention to, Hashimoto advised. "Unstable security and threat of diseases may prejudice tourists against Africa. Great effort should be put into image improvement."
The fifth Africa-Asia Business Forum is a result of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development that was held in 1993.
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