On Friday, August 2, 2024, the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho, alias Gen. Salim Saleh, hosted Gabon’s Transitional President, H.E Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, in Gulu District.
During the discussion, the two leaders emphasized Uganda and Gabon’s commitment to promoting socioeconomic development and partnership, laying the groundwork for a prosperous future based on mutual cooperation and common goals.
President Nguema, joined by Gabon’s First Lady, Mrs. Zita Oligui Nguema, underlined his country’s determination to eliminate food imports and profit from Uganda’s agricultural development initiative.
“I wanted to come here and personally visit H.E Museveni as part of this working visit. I am especially pleased to be in Gulu, the hometown of Gen. Saleh, who had a fantastic agricultural ethic that helped change the country’s image,” the President said.
H.E Nguema emphasized Gabon’s interest in Uganda’s wealth-creation activities, as well as the value of regional, continental, and worldwide cooperation.
The Gabonese President also informed Gen. Salim Saleh that he discussed the importance of bilateral collaboration with President Museveni, and that they agreed on many efforts to deepen Gabon-Uganda ties.
President Nguema also underlined Gabon’s ambitions to diversify its economy, eliminate unemployment through agricultural growth, and promote young entrepreneurship. He stressed the value of peace and stability in luring businesses.
The Gabonese President also announced his economic transformation strategy, which included agriculture sector recovery, senior civil servant training, and free education for youngsters. He emphasized the role of military efficiency in national development, drawing comparisons to Uganda’s Operation Wealth Creation project.
“Despite the achievements of my government, I am currently stalled in agriculture and energy. I am extremely aware of the idea that investing in power in your country reduces poverty. Currently, 35% of my country’s youth are unemployed, and I assumed that building infrastructure would create jobs, but agriculture allows me to create additional jobs so that they may work and eat what they have harvested,” he explained.
Gen. Salim Saleh, for his part, informed President Nguema of Uganda’s commitment to successful bilateral cooperation, citing the success of Operation Wealth Creation in assisting Ugandans to enter the money economy.
Gabon’s Vice Prime Minister, Mr. Alexandre Barro Chambrier, emphasized the country’s commitment to economic diversification and the necessity for cooperation with Uganda. He emphasized Gabon’s abundant natural resources and the opportunity for strategic collaboration in agriculture, mining, and industrialization.
“Gabon is the first manganese producer, with high-value manganese and other critical minerals. We believe that President Museveni’s vision is well-suited to our goals. We desire economic reform, raw material processing, and, as our President recently stated, the processing of oil industry shares. We desire partnerships; we want to be an open country, and we feel that the dimension of cooperation is truly important,” he said.
Ambassador Phillip Idro, Special Advisor for Operation Wealth Creation, welcomed President Nguema to Uganda, highlighting the two nations’ longstanding development collaboration. He emphasized Uganda’s socioeconomic change and the significance of Operation Wealth Creation in bringing people together for commercial operations.
“The Operation Wealth Creation’s centre of gravity has been the mobilisation of the masses to engage in commercial activities by distributing critical agricultural inputs and animal breeding materials, providing low-cost housing, promoting agricultural modernization, among many others,” he told me.
H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda launched Operation Wealth Creation in July 2013 as an intervention to efficiently facilitate national socioeconomic transformation, with a focus on increasing household incomes and creating wealth by converting subsistence farmers into commercial farmers.
The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Hon. Jacob Oboth-Oboth, the Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Hon. Judith Nabakooba, the National Resistance Movement Secretary General, Rt Hon. Richard Todwong, Gabon’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Jonathan Ignoumba, and the Gabonese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Régis Ndiaye, were all in attendance.
