Museveni urges Africa to use pension funds for infrastructure

KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni has urged African nations to leverage their estimated 14 trillion in pension and social security funds to finance infrastructure projects, arguing that the continent should reduce its reliance on costly foreign loans.

In a speech read by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja at the All-Africa Pension Summit in Kampala on Wednesday, Museveni stated that Africa’s main challenge is the underutilization of existing wealth rather than a lack of resources.

“Africa’s pension funds now stand at about US14 trillion, a figure larger than the lending capacity of the World Bank,” Museveni said. “If we took advantage of this enormous portfolio, we could finance critical sectors like electricity, roads, housing and education.”

The president, who noted Africa possesses labor and land but often lacks capital, praised Uganda’s National Social Security Fund for its investments in affordable housing and renewable energy. He stressed that development must translate into employment and wealth for households.

Betty Amongi, the minister overseeing the NSSF, echoed the call, pushing African pension funds to become “a powerful engine for domestic development” by investing in well-structured social and economic infrastructure projects.

Amongi warned that reliance on external loans perpetuates cycles of debt, advocating instead for self-reliant systems built on local capital. She cited examples from the continent, including South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund investing over 1 billion in renewable energy and Nigeria’s National Pension Commission directing 25 billion into infrastructure.

Patrick Ayota, managing director of NSSF Uganda, noted the high attendance at the summit — 600 participants, exceeding expectations of 350 — as a sign of growing interest in “homegrown solutions.”

Ayota revealed that East African pension funds are considering a joint investment pool, with a proposal to contribute about 1 percent of their combined 40 billion portfolio to co-finance large regional projects.

“Even 1 percent is 400 million, enough to co-finance projects like the Kampala Expressway, which costs US12 billion,” Ayota explained, adding that local funding can attract additional investors and ensure more benefits remain in Africa.

He assured members that NSSF’s investments continue to be guided by safety and returns.

“Let us transform pension funds from passive repositories into active engines of African development,” Amongi concluded. “Let us invest in ourselves, for ourselves.”