MPs shocked as over Shs 50 bln silk project stalls in Sheema district

SHEEMA -Members of Parliament were days ago shocked after discovering that Tropical Institute of Development Innovations [TRIDI], which was given over Shs 57 billion by government for manufacturing silk in Sheema district, has not delivered any tangible results.

This came after the district leadership spearheaded by the chairperson Jemimah Buhanda wrote to the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Technology citing a number of inconsistencies at the Rubaare silt project in Sheema Municipality.

The committee of parliament, led by Bokoro County MP Acia Remigio while on the oversight tour of the facility were told the silk facility had been idle despite government support.

Naboth Ngambe, the district entomologist, said Sheema district handed 26 acres of land to the national council for higher education [NCHE], which later offered it to TRIDI for the cultivation of silkworms.

According to Ngambe, the district was supposed to receive about Shs 762 million from TRIDI as a profit after using its land for silk production. However, since its inception, TRIDI has only paid Shs 11mln.

In the begging, some farmers even abandoned their traditional cash crops like coffee and joined mulberry growing thinking that sericulture would not only employ them but also improve their household income.

However, the farmers who joined the project as out-growers are now counting losses while casual labourers have not been paid for the last six months.

“After the arrival of the machines, I replaced my coffee plantation but five years down the road I have not realised any results from the new silk that is not buying our mulberry,” Jackson Musinguzi lamented.

The Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Monica Musenero said the silk plant is one of the most funded project in her docket.

Musenero said TRIDI received over Shs 16 bln in 2021 and Shs 41blnn in 2022 to boost silk growing in the district. “What I saw today has really disappointed me because this is the project that has been receiving a lot of money from the Ministry of ICT but it is not moving,” she said.

Musenero also ordered the arrest of TRIDI employees who abandoned the plant. She also ordered the freezing of its account saying government had deposited on it Shs 41blnn this financial year.

“It seems they went and bought old machines which we are going to investigate and really what is on the ground does not account for the amount of money we have sunk into this project,” she said.

MP Remigio said as a committee they would invite TRIDI officials for further investigations before taking a final decision. We are also concerned that this facility is not a factory but they are installing industrial machines in kind of a conference hall,” said Remigio.

Clet Wandu Masiga, executive director TRIDI Principal Investigator for commercialisation of sericulture and apiculture technologies and innovations project said the machines lying in the compound are part of the donation, which lacked housing space

He added that the factory mechanical installation is almost at 85 percent although the production is pending vis-à-vis the viability of mulberry material.

Meanwhile, Seyed Mohammad, chairman Iran-Uganda establishments said Uganda is set for commercial silk production, as it calls for large-scale mulberry farming to ensure sustainable feeding of silkworms that transform into cocoons, silk yarn, and silk fabric.

The Iranian investor’s vision is to see Uganda becoming among the leading silk producers in the world expecting to contribute revenue of Shs 155bln annually. “When I saw the opportunity in Uganda, such as the climate, land opportunities and labour, I decided to develop this business,” Mohammad said.

Government has also invested in 15 hectares at Namasumbi sericulture station in Mukono district where over 500 tons of silken are expected to be produced annually.

Uganda produces about 20 tons of silk, which is still low to satisfy the available market both locally and internationally.  Currently, a kilogramme of silk in the Iran market is 50 dollars and in Uganda it is valued at Shs 6,000.

Worldwide, silk production stands at 200,000 metric tons.

https://thecooperator.news/uganda-targets-world-silk-market/

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country-wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news