UGANDAN President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni yesterday delivered an uninspiring speech as he officially opened this year\u2019s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).<\/p>\n
Museveni, who arrived in Bulawayo amid high security, officially opened the fair for the second time.<\/p>\n
Showgoers and exhibitors who attended the official opening ceremony had high expectations that the Ugandan leader would deliver an inspiring and forward-
\nlooking statement.<\/p>\n
However, all hopes vanished as the Ugandan leader opted to dwell on his country\u2019s history and re-igniting the tired sanctions debate on
\nZimbabwe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been here in 1989 to officially open the fair. It is 30 years since I was here and opening the show. So it is not only the 60 years anniversary of the
\ntrade fair, but also 30 years of my presence here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Museveni took his audience down memory lane, delving into his relations with the ruling Zanu PF party and with other former liberation movements in southern
\nAfrica.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not a stranger to Zanu PF. I have worked with Zanu PF and the other liberation movements in Africa, that is (the likes of) Frelimo, and the African National Congress (ANC), MPLA, PAC, Zapu, in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in 1968, together with a group of students, some of whom were coming from Zimbabwe, we went on a solidarity trip to Mozambique to support Frelimo. I want
\nto thank the people of Zimbabwe for their struggle. The struggle here was not easy. Africa has been divided in two parts. There are parts in Africa where the
\nEuropeans did not want to stay forever. So they designated those as protectorates. Uganda was a protectorate.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 that protectorate (status) was not welcome, but that is what they said. There were other countries like Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa, where they said
\nthese are colonies. The Europeans would never leave. Indeed, Ian Smith said the whites would be here for a thousand years. I hope most of you are so old enough
\nto remember that statement. And from my mathematics, the thousand years have not been achieved and Ian Smith is not here,\u201d Museveni said, much to the chagrin of the guests at the ceremony.<\/p>\n
He said there was need for African countries to work together for the development of their nations.<\/p>\n
The Ugandan leader condemned the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West, saying they were not justified.<\/p>\n
Museveni also blamed African countries for failing to work together.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 it\u2019s also the fault of Africa because we don\u2019t work together closely. If we are working closely, if somebody puts sanctions on one of us, we also put
\nsanctions on them. This is what China does. When you put sanctions on China, China will put sanctions on you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UGANDAN President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni yesterday delivered an uninspiring speech as he officially opened this year\u2019s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF). Museveni, who arrived in Bulawayo amid high security, officially opened the fair for the second time. Showgoers and exhibitors who attended the official opening ceremony had high expectations that the Ugandan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":8087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[38,188,149,339,573],"class_list":{"0":"post-8084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-zanu-pf","10":"tag-bulawayo","11":"tag-president","12":"tag-security","13":"tag-uganda"},"yoast_head":"\n