KAMPALA | African heads of state and development leaders opened the 11th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11) in Kampala with a resounding call for transformative leadership, bold policy reforms, and science-driven solutions to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
President Museveni, hosting the high-level gathering, urged the continent to stop exporting raw materials, describing it as "donating jobs and wealth" to other countries.
“In Uganda, I have banned the export of unprocessed minerals,” Museveni said. “If we can’t process them now, they will remain in the ground for our grandchildren to process.”
The forum, held under the theme “Driving Job Creation and Economic Growth through Sustainable, Inclusive, Science and Evidence-Based Solutions for the 2030 Agenda and AU Agenda 2063,” has brought together African leaders, UN officials, development partners, civil society, and academia to chart a new course for inclusive and sustainable growth.
President Museveni cited Uganda’s employment data to highlight the continent’s untapped potential: 3.6 million Ugandans are employed in agriculture, 1.4 million in manufacturing, five million in services, and 46,000 in ICT.
“We are just beginning,” he said, “but you can see jobs can be created.”
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa echoed the need for continental unity, stressing that African countries cannot operate in isolation.
“There must be a connectedness in our efforts,” he said. “We need to share, discuss, and interrogate what means we have to achieve our goals.”
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed commended the continent’s efforts but warned that challenges like structural inequality and informal unemployment remain persistent.
“Let us tell a new story—driven by African leadership, especially our youth, powered by African people, and anchored in African values,” she urged.
The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete, pointed to compounding crises—COVID-19, geopolitical instability, and a debt burden exceeding 64% of GDP—that are slowing Africa’s progress.
“Africa’s GDP growth is stuck around 3%, far below the 7% needed to meet SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth,” Gatete noted. “Aid is no longer a sustainable path. We must strengthen domestic revenue mobilization, curb illicit financial flows, and unlock the potential of pension and sovereign wealth funds.”
Canadian diplomat Robert Rae, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, highlighted the importance of regional integration, invoking the historic Pan-African call of unity.
“‘Africa for the Africans’ must still be our slogan if we are to achieve shared prosperity,” Rae said, backing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a key platform for collective growth.
The urgency of action resonated throughout the forum. With just five years left to the 2030 deadline, only 10 of Africa’s 144 measurable SDG targets are currently on track. A staggering 106 are moving too slowly, while others are stagnating or regressing.
This year’s ARFSD places special focus on five priority SDGs under review:
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 14: Life Below Water
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
The forum closed with a united call for a shift from analysis to action—urging governments to implement people-centered, evidence-based policies that can define the next five years with courage, innovation, and unity.