Museveni Says East Africa Must Unite Politically to Share Refinery Jobs and Profits

What the report says

President Yoweri Museveni has renewed his push for deeper political integration in East Africa, saying regional unity is needed so major cross-border investments can spread jobs and economic gains more evenly among member states. Nile Post reported that he made the remarks on Wednesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Special Economic Zone in Mokowe, Lamu County, Kenya.

Museveni used the planned refinery as an example of the limits of working within separate national borders. He argued that when raw materials are produced in one country and processed in another, the host country often captures more of the employment and value created through manufacturing, while the exporting country receives less benefit. He contrasted that with a single national system, where labor can move more freely and tax revenue is shared more directly.

According to the report, Museveni suggested that East African countries could take shares in the Lamu project so they could earn profits from it, but he said ownership alone would not solve the question of employment. He linked the issue to the East African Community’s long-running integration agenda, which has advanced through customs, common market and monetary union steps, while political federation remains unfinished.

He also praised Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote for expanding from cement production into petroleum refining. Nile Post said the wider Lamu complex is planned to include refining, power generation and other industrial activities, though the project remains in the development stage.