Uganda has a young population, with about 78% below the age of 35, according to the 2024 population census. Secondly, we are strategically located in the Great Lakes region, which means as a country we must strive to form permanent global partnerships to aid our economic growth and stability.
One of the organisations that comes to mind is BRICS, an economic bloc that comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Officially, Uganda is now a partner state of BRICS, but this, in my view, is not good enough because we miss out on certain opportunities.
For several reasons, we have to seek full membership of BRICS and be able to sit with other members as equal partners.
When Brazil, India, China, and South Africa formed BRICs, they wanted a stronger voice in global trade, finance, and development. They were looking for an alternative to G7, which appeared to be an exclusive club of Western powers.
If we become permanent members of BRICS, the most obvious benefit shall be economic. Our economy relies heavily on agriculture, raw materials, and a growing services sector. We need big markets like those of China and India for our agricultural produce.
Countries like Brazil are big on agriculture, and like Uganda, they are one of the biggest growers of coffee. Therefore, if we joined BRICS as a permanent member, we would be in a position to exchange skills, expertise, and technology with Brazil on how to improve our agricultural sector.
In addition, farmers in Uganda who grow tea, coffee, and other crops would benefit from increased demand triggered by access to these markets.
Since we have a young population, there will be the creation of jobs within the agriculture value chain that will ease the problem of unemployment. Big investors from the BRICS will build factories, processing plants, and industrial parks, which will create more jobs.
Another important opportunity for Uganda will be the fact that it will benefit from the New Development Bank, which was set up by BRICS to access cheap funds for development.
We have shortfalls in infrastructural development.
We need more power stations, we need to build bigger and wider roads, and, as President Museveni says, we need to build a railway line to reduce the cost of trade. If we are permanent members of BRICS, it means we shall have access to its bank, which is capitalized to the tune of $100 billion.
Won’t this raise our public debt, which at $32 billion is already alarming, some will wonder. I think any new borrowing must be well planned and should go into areas that boost economic growth, like infrastructure.
We can develop a policy that will guide our borrowing from the New Development Bank, but all the same, we need the funds.
Over the last 30 years, China and India have made significant progress in technology and innovation. China is often dubbed the world’s factory because it manufactures basically everything. And cheaply, too.
Brazil, as we mentioned, is big on agriculture, while South Africa is known for its mining prowess. Just imagine the benefits for a country like Uganda, which is trying to develop its mining sector, if it were to become a permanent BRICS member? There would be many, including the exchange of knowledge and expertise between Uganda and South Africa.
One of the most thriving sectors in Uganda is tourism. We can expand it if we join BRICS permanently. BRICS countries like Russia, India, China, and Brazil have a big middle class that would be willing to travel and explore Uganda’s natural beauty, the game parks, the animals, and cultures if we were part of BRICS, because it would give us more visibility on the global stage.
Besides the economy, there are social benefits that would come as a result of being a permanent BRICS member. Think of the cultural exchange programmes that can be organized between Uganda and other BRICS members.
If Uganda collaborates on a permanent basis with BRICS countries, it will open doors for scholarships, research partnerships, and professional exchanges.
We shall benefit from medical research and joint training programmes for doctors and nurses. Our students will have a chance to go and study at some of the universities in Brazil or India and get the skills needed to build a modern economy.
Politically, our permanent membership of BRICS will raise our global profile because the bloc already has international influence. We can lobby as a bloc on some of the issues that concern all of us, like climate change, international trade imbalance, and others.
In our current state, Uganda’s voice cannot be heard or is easily isolated by other big international players.
Uganda’s full membership of BRICS would also enable us to diversify our partnership. Currently, we are members of regional groupings like the East African Community and the Inter-Governmental Authority of Development (IGAD), to mention but two.
We don’t have to leave these partnerships to join BRICS. However, it will increase our bargaining power on the international stage and make us less vulnerable to manipulation by the US and the West.
I know some people could get worried that by Uganda joining BRICS permanently, it could strain our relations with Western partners like the UK, Britain, and Italy, which is the largest importer of our coffee.
I think these fears are misplaced because being a member of BRICS does not mean we shall sever ties with other partners. We can be permanent members of BRICS while enjoying strong ties with the West. The two, in my view, are not contradictory.
Besides Uganda, Africa, through the African Union, should work more closely with BRICS. Africa, the poorest continent, yet it has more than one billion people. Most of these people are poor and jobless. Famine and hunger are prevalent in many African nations.
Some of the BRICS countries, like India and Brazil, have faced similar challenges before and are now growing rapidly. Can we use their experiences and lessons to solve our problems?
Secondly, Africa would have a bigger bargaining power on the international stage if it worked closely with BRICS. Yes, there is some form of cooperation between Africa and some BRICS countries, but this relationship needs to be deepened for it to be more consequential.
In the end, Uganda should see that the need for a permanent BRICS membership is about maximizing the economic, social, and political opportunities that will come with the move. We are blessed when it comes to natural resources.
We have one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world (Lake Victoria). We have minerals like iron ore, gold, copper, and others. Now we have oil that could begin flowing before the end of this year.
How do we take advantage of all these blessings? By joining a bloc like BRICS, whose members have the technical know-how and market for some of our minerals.
We should not remain observers and see the world pass us by. We have to be at the negotiation table and make a case for why we need to partner with other global powers.
As mentioned at the beginning, Uganda stands at an important moment. The global world order is shifting, and new alliances are being formed.
Remember, our target is to grow our economy tenfold in the next 10 years. The first step to achieve this lofty ambition is to join BRICS permanently