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Prepared Remarks for Andrew S. Natsios
Administrator, USAID

Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony with President Museveni
November 5, 2003

1. I want to make two quick points this morning. One is the absolute importance of education to economic growth. The second is the imperative of strong leadership.
   • We all know that no nation can really compete in today's economy without an educated workforce and a functioning information technology sector.
   • A vital IT sector brings the world of commerce and ideas to one's home or workplace, helping nation's economy grow and bringing people everywhere in contact with the global marketplace of ideas.
2. Hope and opportunity are at work in Uganda today. You can see them on the people's faces, as I did when I visited with Secretary Powell in May 2001.
   • One the major reasons for this is the leadership of President Museveni.
   • Over the last ten years, Uganda's economic growth has averaged 6.7 percent per year. Even though it has slowed a bit since 2000, the gains are still impressive and reflected in the numbers people who no longer live below the poverty line.
3. As you know, President Museveni visited the White House this June. President Bush returned the visit in July.
   • President Bush made particular note of Uganda's leadership. "You have been a strong advocate of free trade because you understand the benefits of trade," he told President Museveni. "You have been a strong leader in helping resolve regional disputes... You have been a world leader - not just a leader on the continent of Africa -- but a world leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS."
   • Let me just add to what the President said. USAID has been in Uganda for many years, and I am proud of the contributions we have made, working with President Museveni's Administration, to Uganda's growth and development.
4. Leadership takes many forms. Cisco Systems has shown its leadership, through its vision and a real, hands-on commitment to making the Cisco Academies the best IT training centers in Africa. As the head of the largest bilateral development agency in the world, I can only express my personal appreciation for the alliance Cisco formed with our Leland Initiative programs.
   • Not only has Cisco been willing to put up substantial amounts of its own capital, so have the companies that have contributed their systems to the Cisco Academies' curriculum - Sun, Hewlett Packard, and Panduit.
   • Nowhere in the developing world has this alliance been more successful than with Makerere University and the Ugandan Communication Institute.
   • Makerere and the Institute are training a new generation, putting tools in people's hands so they can compete more successfully in the today's information-based marketplace.
5. This MoU will kick off the second generation of Cisco Academies, expanding their number to 100 institutions all across Africa. Twelve of them will be in Uganda -- 4 in Kampala and one each in Mbale; Fort Portal; Mukono; Gulu; Bushenyi; Masaka; and Lira -- so the program will become country-wide for the first time.
   • And we will be adding new partners, like EDS.
   • For its part EDS is joining with Makerere University and several of our Historically Black Colleges and Universities and USAID to train Ugandans in sophisticated computer-aided manufacturing systems.
   • This is a new part of the world EDS, and we are delighted to have them as new partners.
6. And now it is my pleasure to turn it over to Connie Newman, who will introduce my friend Christine Hemrick, one of the real reasons the Cisco Academies and our Leland Alliance have been so successful.

Thank you.

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