Uganda has reacted to its proposed removal from the African growth and opportunity act (AGOA) by the United States.
In a letter to the senate president on Monday, Joe Biden, US president, said the US plans to expel Uganda, Gabon, Niger Republic, and the Central African Republic from AGOA.
Biden said the decision was taken over the countries’ continuous engagements in “gross violations of internationally recognised human rights”.
In May, the US government said it was considering removing Uganda from AGOA and introducing sanctions against the country after it passed a controversial anti-homosexuality law.
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The East African country imposes a death penalty on people found guilty of engaging in certain same-sex acts.
Reacting to Biden’s announcement, Odrek Rwabwogo, chairperson of the Ugandan presidential advisory committee on exports and industrial development (PACEID), said the decision was only taken because the US Democratic Party disapproved of the country’s same-sex law.
Rwabwogo described the decision as punishing, saying the US did not take into consideration that the law is popular among Ugandans.
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“We are disappointed by the unfortunate decision by the United States (U.S.) to end the participation of Uganda in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade programme,” the statement which was released on Wednesday said.
“The reason given by U.S. President Biden was, ultimately, because Uganda’s democratically elected parliament passed an Act of which he and his colleagues in the U.S. Democratic party disapproved.
“It mattered not that the law in question – the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) – is popular amongst Ugandans.
“There are numerous public opinion polls conducted by reputable western opinion research companies that are testament to that fact.
“However, it was not popular with President Biden and his colleagues. Therefore, it seems they have decided Ugandans should be punished.”
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The PACEID chairperson said no Ugandan, “whatever their sexual preference” will benefit from the US decision, adding that small businesses would suffer the most.
“But more than that, it sends a message to all Ugandans – indeed all Africans – that their already slim prospects for economic prosperity are contingent on whether they vote in line with the values of whoever happens to hold high office in the U.S., not their own. They will not find this acceptable. Nor should they,” the statement added.
Rwabwogo said Uganda remains ready to discuss the decision with the US.
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