Top govt officials to surrender cars for NAM summit
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa (right) takes a delegation from National People’s Congress of China led by Mr Luosang Jiangcun, the standing committee’s deputy chairperson (left), on a tour around the Parliament chambers on November 23, 2023. PHOTO/DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Mr Luosang Jiangcun, the leader of the Chinese delegation, pledged that his government would maintain a good working relationship with Uganda. “I hope to establish and maintain a good working relationship with Your Excellency [President Museveni], continuing to promote the development of China and Uganda relations,” he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the summit but a high-level delegation will represent the country.
All high-ranking government officials across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) will surrender their designated vehicles so that they are used to host the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) and G-77+China Third South Summits slated for January next year.
Already, 140 vehicles donated by China plus 10 executive buses and five ambulances pledged by the Indian government have been designated for the summits.
The State Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Affairs, Mr John Mulimba, made the revelation as he tabled a statement before Parliament on the country’s preparations.
“Due to limited resources, the government has not spent funds on buying vehicles; instead, the entire fleet of government vehicles will be mobilised for the summits, including vehicles used by entitled officers across government MDAs,” Mr Mulimba told Parliament.
He added: “So far, the Ministry of Works and Transport has inspected a total of 215,92 vehicles, and 1,543 are in good condition. These will be further inspected at the end of December and early January.”
Before that statement, the Deputy Speaker, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, had confirmed that Uganda had received all the vehicles donated by China.
He made the revelation while welcoming the delegation from the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China to Parliament. It was led by the standing committee’s deputy chairperson, Mr Luosang Jiangcun.
The latest fleet of 70 vehicles brings the total to 140 vehicles after the Chinese Ambassador to Uganda, Zheng Zhuquiang, handed over the initial batch to the then Foreign Affairs minister, Mr Sam Kutesa.
The cars were meant to boost Uganda’s efforts in hosting the G77 Summit which was supposed to have happened in April 2020 but was halted due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Uganda and China have worked closely bilaterally and in the multilateral arena on regional and international issues, including under the Group of 77 and China,” Mr Tayebwa said.
“China provided a fleet of 70 vehicles and accreditation equipment to Uganda to host the Third South Summit - which was initially slated to be hosted in Kampala in April 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the summit now confirmed for January 2024, China have generously provided an additional 70 vehicles to support Uganda’s successful hosting. We are very grateful for this support,” the Deputy Speaker added.
Mr Tayebwa also joined President Museveni in rooting for deeper and wider markets for Uganda’s finished goods in China as one of the ways to bolster the economic growth of the country.
He called for more support for the development of the country’s technology.
“We continue to appeal for more technology transfer to add value to our products and more access to Uganda-manufactured goods to the Chinese market. The unlimited access will improve the balance of trade between Uganda and China,” he said.
Mr Luosang also met President Museveni at State House Entebbe on Wednesday before he proceeded to Parliament where he had meetings with MPs yesterday.
The meeting was momentarily open to the media before being held in a closed-door session.
