By Shamim Saad
The Minister for Local Government, Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, recently, hailed President Yoweri Museveni for attracting investors to establish factories in Uganda and commended the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) for effectively managing the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park, which is creating thousands of jobs for young people.
Minister Barugahara made the remarks during his recent tour of the industrial park, where he witnessed first-hand the locally manufactured products and the employment opportunities being created for young people.
He was accompanied by UIA Director General Robert Mukiza and officials from Tian Tang Group, led by Director Luke Wang and Deputy Managing Director Owen Jin.
The Minister noted that the 650-acre piece of land, which was previously largely undeveloped, has been transformed into a hub of industrial activity, creating jobs and contributing to improved livelihoods in the region.
He recalled that President Museveni had earlier observed that using the land for farming would generate relatively few jobs compared to establishing factories, which have the potential to employ thousands of people.
“Today, about 15,000 young people are benefiting from the park, with a target of reaching 20,000 jobs once the remaining factory capacity is filled. I commend the young people working here for their dedication and for earning decent incomes to support their families. I assure you that government will work to address the challenges you are facing,” Barugahara said.
He encouraged young people in Mbale and surrounding areas to take advantage of employment and skills-development opportunities emerging from the industrial park.
“The young people working here may not be earning a lot of money yet, but they are gaining skills, experience, discipline and exposure that will shape their future. I appeal to the youth of Mbale to embrace the opportunities at Sino-Mbale Industrial Park and make the most of the skills and experience being offered,” he said.
The Minister’s visit is part of government’s continued engagement with investors to better understand their operations, appreciate their contribution to economic development and identify practical solutions to challenges affecting industrial production.
The visit also provided an opportunity to assess the park’s progress and appreciate the contribution of industries to local manufacturing, job creation and value addition.
Speaking during the visit, Mukiza thanked Minister Barugahara for taking time to tour the park and interact with investors and workers.
He reaffirmed UIA’s commitment to working with government and other stakeholders to address bottlenecks affecting investors and accelerate the full operationalization of industrial parks across the country.
“We want to support our investors and ensure that the challenges affecting their operations are addressed. Our goal is to create an enabling environment where businesses can grow, create jobs and contribute to Uganda’s industrial transformation,” Mukiza said.
Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park is among the industrial parks being developed to drive Uganda’s industrialization agenda through manufacturing, value addition, employment creation and increased investment.
The continued expansion of industries at the park is expected to provide more employment opportunities for young people while strengthening local production and contributing to the transformation of Mbale and the wider Eastern Uganda region.
ENDS
