JINJA – President Yoweri Museveni has passed out 72 Army Officers after they successfully concluded their one-year training course at the Jinja-based Senior Command and Staff College, Kimaka.
Speaking at the function, Mr. Museveni said developed countries only realized their opportunities on time thus utilizing them, unlike Africa.
“Africa has lagged behind in terms of development because it realized late to appreciate the underlying causes and the bottlenecks that inhibit factors that are necessary for the fast economic growth of any country,” said Museveni.
“It is, therefore, important that for Uganda and Africa to register steady economic development, there is need to invest in human resource and infrastructure development as well as wider markets superintendent by focused leadership,” he added.
The passed officers hailed from host Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and South Africa.
Mr. president revealed that Africa’s population is big enough to sustain its produce which will in turn increase income hence development.
“The USA is rich because of big markets amid its diverse natural resources and its understanding of its legitimate interests. Therefore, numbers matter a lot for Africa’s prosperity because of the great consumption capacity,” he said.
The President also said that education is a crucial element in propelling the development of a country adding that railway and water transport are important to ensure a low cost of doing business.
He further noted that industrialization helps to create jobs for people that are educated to ensure the stemming of the phenomenon of brain drain to exterior employment.
“The trained personnel are always tempted to move away for lack of jobs and can only be trapped for jobs access if the sectors of commercial agriculture, industries, services and ICT are developed,” he stressed.
Uganda’s Army Chief Commander congratulated the UPDF Officers and their colleagues from the region for undertaking and successfully completing their training programme.
The Commandant of the College, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, thanked President Museveni for sparing time to impart information affecting the development of African societies with enriched historical background to the students.
Passing a vote of thanks to the President, Major Samson Opolot from the Uganda People’s Defence Air Force (UPDAF) said that the lecture, which had broad, researched factual material that the President delivered to the course participants, will enhance them to carry out an assessment to understand ‘how far their countries should move on and how far they are’ for socio-economic and political transformation.
