NAM and G77 summits

Uganda’s lost opportunities at next year’s big international conferences and what can be done to salvage the situation

THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | January next year, Uganda will host two big international conferences back-to-back: the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) summit and the Group of 77 (G77) summit. This is an important milestone for Uganda diplomatically and politically. It gives the country important diplomatic visibility and some political weight of considerable magnitude in global affairs. Both associations represent the aspirations of people in the Global South whose voice is marginalised in the current international system. Uganda’s leadership of both associations comes at a critical time in world affairs.

The unipolar moment, the domination of the globe by one big power, has come to an end. The world has entered a period of multi polarity with China emerging as a serious competitor to the United States for global dominance. In a distant third position is a revived Russia. The current international system was built by the U.S. at the end of World War Two. Both China and Russia are increasingly challenging the current world order and therefore the leadership of the U.S. China, for instance, is building alternative institutions to blunt U.S. power. It is also building forms of control and influence in other parts of the world through economic intercourse (debt and trade). Russia is doing similar things even though on a smaller scale. It is challenging U.S. power using military means as in Ukraine and Syria.

These developments have injected fresh meaning and urgency into NAM. This association was created to promote the neutrality of the global south in such conflicts between and among the big powers. The idea behind NAM is that less developed countries should avoid being dragged into conflicts between big powers. The best way for them to survive and thrive is to be nonaligned. This gives them flexibility to relate to rival camps for trade and investment. It is also the best strategy for them to preserve their sovereignty and freedom of maneuver in the risky business of international affairs. Being dragged into rival camps places them as risk of destruction as we have seen with Ukraine’s desire to join NATO.

While hosting NAM and the G77 summits gives Uganda considerable diplomatic visibility and political capital, the enduring benefits come from the economic opportunities the country can reap in the medium to long term. Uganda is a poor country that needs international visibility to promote itself as a destination for trade, foreign direct investment and tourism. To position itself to take maximum advantage of these potential benefits, the country needed to have a long-term strategy. In fact, Uganda has been lucky that it was selected to host both of these conferences over five years ago. So, we had enough time to prepare ourselves.

Yet in late 2023, Kampala, the nation’s capital that will host these two major conferences, is horror show. It is very dirty, littered with garbage thrown all over the place. Its roads are broken, cluttered with myriad potholes and in some places giant craters that look like mini-lakes. The city’s drainage system is clogged, making simple rains turn streets into rivers. Because of the dust and mud in the city, many buildings along the roads and streets are murky. Electricity wires hang loosely over streets. Boda boda riders do not respect traffic rules and will make many a visitor shudder at the carelessness bordering on anarchy of this city.

Having let the city rot for decades, the government is waking up too late to fix it. Whatever improvements they make in this very short time will not make Kampala a showcase for Uganda the way Kigali makes visitors feel. Remember that in all human affairs, the first impression is always the most lasting and meaningful. Hence when going to parties or conferences where we expect to meet new people – be they business partners or potential lovers and spouses – we put on our best clothes. Therefore, Uganda has ignored beautifying Kampala at a very high cost to its image.

In his book, From Third World to First, former Singaporean prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew expresses this point best. He says that for the 1971 Commonwealth summit, he ensured that his city-state plant palm trees and flowers from the airport into the city. This was meant to create a positive first impression in the minds of visitors about Singapore as a nice and cool place to visit and invest in. For Uganda, Kampala is our front garden and living room where we host visitors. The impression they get of the city forms their opinion of the state of Uganda and their prospects as investors or tourists.

Conference attendees will include a large number of leaders; some from powerful countries. These will come with their camera crews who will take still and video images of Kampala and send them as news stories to their home countries, giving the country free worldwide publicity. Given that NAM has 120 members and the G77 will have 134 member countries attending, these two conferences provide our country with the perfect opportunity to sell itself cheaply as a destination for investment and tourism. But with a city mired in traffic chaos, an infrastructure nightmare and a dirty environment, the first impression of visitors will be this is not a place to visit and/or invest.

Yet in spite of this bad first impression, all is not lost. Although the infrastructure and environment around Kampala is a horror show, roads leading to major parts of this country are actually good. Uganda has a large network of tourist sites and equally an incredible set of the best tourism resorts. The country also has a very good investment climate, buttressed by sound macroeconomic management. Private enterprises in different economic sectors thrive in spite of a chaotic and dirty city. Uganda can greatly compensate for the bad first impression by building capacity for an excellent second impression among visitors to the country. How?

Just imagine a visitor has gone through the horror-show of our potholes, garbage and traffic. But once in their hotel room, they find a coffee-table book of the investment opportunities for the country, showcasing the success of private enterprises using good pictures, graphics and statistics. Also imagine a visitor goes through a coffee table book in their hotel room showcasing our tourism sites in their magnificent beauty and our hotels and resorts in their luxury. This can create a powerful secondary impression that may make them rethink our country and help blunt some of the first impression images. We have two months to do this.

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amwenda@independent.co.ug