The Speaker of Parliament Hon. Rebecca Kadaga has tasked the Foreign Affairs ministers in Africa to sort out the challenges faced by their citizens in getting visas to foreign countries in Europe, the USA, and other countries.
Currently, Ugandans can travel to 66 countries either visa-free, or visas provided on arrival, and none of those countries are in Europe or North America. The Speaker wondered why this is so, given the fact that Uganda allows foreigners from most of these countries entry, without a visa, or processing them on arrival.
“It seems our foreign office is not aware of this. I’d want them to wake up to the challenges being faced by the citizens and maybe we do a reciprocal arrangement because we process these people’s visas at the port of entry but for us even to board a plane, you must first be sure you have a visa.”
Europeans forced themselves into Africa in a few hundred years ago, colonised us, we fought them, they went back to their countries and closed their borders, or at the very least, put in stringent measures to gain entry into their countries. Africans with their generosity, has left her borders open to Europeans and Americans, but that generosity has not been reciprocated.
Kadaga now seeks to iron out such discrepancies, and trusts our foreign affairs ministers to address them. If it all goes well, you may find us writing future stories from Germany or Canada.