MBARARA – The government of Uganda is looking for enough land for the development of 25 industrial parks across the country to boost industrialization after cabinet approved the proposal for the same at the beginning of August 2021.
The President welcomed the strategy that is aimed at taking Uganda to middle-income status.
According to the Daily Monitor, the proposal was presented by Evelyn Anite, the State Minister for Investment and Privatisation (Investments and Privatisation).
Unlike most government projects contracted to private companies, this time round, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) will develop the infrastructure needed for the parks to avoid delayed works.
While searching for 500 acres of land in Mbarara, to establish the industrial park, Evelyn Anite, the Minister of State for Finance (Investments and Privatization) confirmed that it will be hard for the government to get such big chunks of land in several cities.
“We are on a huge drive going around the country to be able to acquire free land from the local governments to push the industrialization agenda of the president in the country. The President and cabinet directed that we should push that agenda and our directive tells us that we must not establish the industrial park in a wetland and must not be encumbered,” Anite explained.
“In every sub-region, which makes a zone; there is clearly going to be an industrial park. That makes it 20 zones, plus the ones in the capital city, there will be a total of 25 parks,” says Anite.
She added that the construction of industrial parks is intentional to attract investors to favorably put-up industries that will provide a number of jobs to unemployed Ugandans.
“My job is to attract investors both local and foreign. As we encourage these investors to come in, we expect them to come into manufacturing,” she added.
According to David Bahati, the State Minister for Industry; the industrial parks will focus on value addition in agricultural products and minerals to scale up export promotion and reduce import substitution.
“We also do appreciate the fact that in the cities, you cannot get this size of acreage and that’s why we said even when we go into the zones, cities like Mbarara, Kabale and Arua,; we will have to look at what the city leaders are saying,” says Bahati.
Bahati echoed that Uganda’s population must embrace industrialization for it to develop to a middle-income status.
“We identified the 25 industrial parks to attract investors, develop and promote investments. We need a place where they will come and they don’t get worried about water, electricity, internet but to be ready to invest,” he said.
“We will be working with the UPDF to develop these industrial parks because they are cheaper and they are fast and they are patriotic, they have clarity of purpose,” said Bahati.
He says that currently, industries contribute 24.7% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the country’s target is that in the next 5 years, it should contribute 45% of the GDP.
Victoria Rusoke, the State Minister for Local Government encouraged leaders to mobilise communities on mindset change to sustain the industrial parks.
“If these people think it’s just a decoration of a set of buildings, they won’t know how they are going to benefit the community,” Rusoke said.
“We have to create a linkage from other programs that can directly feed into the industrial parks for people to identify priorities of what engagements they can do to earn a living which means we have to mobilise communities to increase production,” Rusoke said.
Didas Tabaro, the Chairman Mbarara district local government, appreciated the ministry for pledging to set up an industrial park approximately on 20-acre land in Rusozi village, Rubaya sub-county.
“We appreciate that the ministry has come to see how we can support the idea of the industrial hub and on behalf of Mbarara district local government, we are very much committed to offer this land to host the industrial hub,” said Tabaro.
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