The government is committed to supporting the manufacturing sector, especially through legislation and policies that will provide a more conducive investment environment.
According to the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, the government will invest Shs400 billion in transforming the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park which employs approximately 7000 Ugandans in different manufacturing and processing factories.
“We have already signed the contract with China Railway No.3 Engineering Group. Every quarter, we are supposed to give you about Shs135 billion and the payments have not been going well but when I go back [Parliament], I am going to follow this up so that we release money for transforming the park,” Tayebwa said.
The Deputy Speaker committed on Friday, 11 October 2024 while officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase production plant of Unisteel Investment Uganda Limited in Mbale City.
Tayebwa commended Mr. Paul Zhang, the Chairman of Tian Tang Group for investing heavily in the manufacturing sector which he said has created jobs for the people in Mbale and surrounding areas.
“I am going to engage the leadership of the Uganda Investment Authority so that we have a full one-stop center in this industrial park where an investor can process Uganda Revenue Authority, National Social Security Fund, and other necessary permits easily,” he added.
Citing electricity as a key ingredient for the manufacturing sector, Tayebwa pledged to push forward the presidential directive to enable factories to access power at five US cents per kilowatt hour.
“This industrial park can consume 200 megawatts and to ensure there is reliable power here, the Electricity Regulatory Authority and Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited will install a 50MVA transformer which will stabilize power in the industrial park,” he said.
The State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Hon. Florence Nambozo urged the investors to set up product outlets within Mbale to enable area residents to easily procure products manufactured at the Mbale Industrial Park.
In a related development, the Deputy Speaker proposed a government policy to reward investors that maximize value addition to Ugandan raw materials.
He said this following a tour of the Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), Scrap to Electric Furnace system at Tembo Steel Mills Limited in Iganga Municipality which minimizes carbon dioxide emissions by 70 percent.
“Manufacturers who use Ugandan raw materials should be supported to pay a certain percentage compared to those importing raw materials,” Tayebwa said.
The Deputy Speaker added that to ensure the use of Uganda’s raw material for manufacturing in steel factories, the government needs to support all dealers manufacturing with iron ore, to acquire mining licenses.
“The target of the leadership of Parliament is to pass proposals and funding based on pro-business interventions. We want to support the President in his message on value addition and this can be done by reducing the cost of doing business,” Tayebwa said.
Hon. Milton Muwuma (NRM, Kigulu County South) urged the government to expedite tarmacking of the Iganga-Walugogo-Luuka-Kamuli road, which he cited as a key business route.
“In December 2020, the President commissioned the tarmacking of this road but it has not yet been worked on. These investors lose a lot of business because trucks bringing raw materials and taking finished steel often break down on that road,” Muwuma said.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
