Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has challenged the African youth to drive the continent’s "next phase of liberation” saying he is not impressed with the rate of Africa’s development.

Speaking at the second day of the Pan-African Youth Conference in Kigali, Museveni told the youth that they must embrace ideologies that will raise the continent from dependency and underdevelopment.

"Young people must not confuse biology with ideology. You may be young biologically but old ideologically. If you have bright ideas, it doesn’t matter your age; you must make good use of your ideology to develop your society,” Museveni said.

"The problem of Africa, which the youth must address, is to look beyond the preservation of cultures. Preserving a society does not mean preserving underdevelopment; it means developing modern infrastructure. Therefore, the youth should drive the process of society metamorphosis and make sure it is not dependent on how another society did it.”

He added that whereas Europe exploited leaders’ ignorance to colonise Africa, today’s youth are intelligent enough and well educated to restore the continent’s dignity.

Independence and liberation wars were justified because we were fighting against colonialism and divisionism. They colonised us because of our internal weaknesses and lack of education. But today, we have young people who know the value of our natural and human resources,” he said.

He also advised the youth to support regional infrastructural projects, rather than join campaigns that oppose them.

"In Uganda, there are some young people who are against the construction of important cross-border infrastructure like the East African railway. Little do they know that these projects are for their benefit, and opposing them is like committing suicide,” Museveni said.

"Such projects will enable industries to grow and create jobs. Our economies cannot grow if we do not have sufficient markets to buy what we produce in the factories.”

The two-day conference was organised ahead of today’s 20th Liberation Day to explore the role of the youth in leading the next wave of liberation movements geared towards a self-reliant continent.