Tayebwa Urges OACPS Countries to Stop Exporting Raw Minerals, Invest in Local Processing

What the report says

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has urged African, Caribbean and Pacific (OACPS) countries to stop relying on exports of raw minerals and instead build local processing industries. He made the remarks in Brussels, Belgium, while chairing a session on mutually beneficial partnerships in critical raw materials at the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, which he co-presides over.

Tayebwa said mineral-rich countries should use rising global demand for critical minerals to create jobs, strengthen domestic industry and keep more value from their resources. He pointed to countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Burundi, Malawi, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria as examples of states with major mineral potential that have not fully translated that wealth into industrial development.

He also called for fairer cooperation with the European Union, including affordable financing, reliable electricity, transport infrastructure and technology transfer to support processing facilities. Tayebwa argued that mineral deals should deliver clearer benefits to host communities through jobs, local business contracts and public revenue, and said lawmakers must monitor agreements, environmental safeguards and workers' rights.

The story also noted comments by Tororo Municipality MP Shyam J. Tanna, who backed value addition and questioned how Europe’s own raw material plans and recycling targets might affect Africa’s ambitions. The broader context is the long-running debate over whether resource-rich countries can move from exporting commodities to capturing more value at home.