Western companies are blind to Ugandan investments, says leader

Friendly hand: Workers getting ready to prepare bars of soap at a factory in Uganda. Chinese state entities and private-sector firms have long been a driving force of investment in Africa, lending countries on the continent hundreds of billions of dollars. ― AFP

KAMPALA: Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, president Yoweri Museveni says, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption that have made slow progress.

Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors such as agro- and fertiliser-processing, minerals processing and textiles.