Masaka could lose chance to host regional industrial park

Cows graze at Bukakkata Sub-county in Masaka District. Work on an industrial park that was commissioned by President Museveni in the area in 2015 is yet to start. PHOTO | AL-MAHDI SSENKABIRWA

Masaka District is on verge of losing the opportunity to host a regional industrial hub due to failure to provide suitable piece of land for the project.

According to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives officials, the piece of land identified at Mazigo Village in Bukakkata Sub-county where President Museveni laid a foundation stone in 2015 was found to be waterlogged and unfit for the project.

"There is no reason why Masaka should be excluded. Let leaders do their part by identifying a suitable site as we requested them then other steps will follow,"

Mr Deogratious Masagazi, the undersecretary at the Trade ministry said last week. This was while he addressed a trade symposium in Masaka City to sensitise stakeholders from the 10 districts of the sub-region about the ministry’s responsibilities and available business opportunities.

This followed complaints raised by leaders led by Mr Vincent Kasumba, the chairperson of Masaka City Development Forum, that the government has sidelined Masaka in many development projects.

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“For long, we have been wondered why this sub-region was left out on the issue of industrial parks yet the site was launched by the President? How then will we fight unemployment in the area?" Kasumba noted

Mr Andrew Musoke, a senior planner at the ministry explained that since the ministry wrote back to the district over queries about the land at Mazigo, no response has been given.

“Shifting the blame to us [government] is unfair. We responded with clear issues that make the proposed site unfit but since then they have fallen silent. It’s the leadership that has not played its part,” he added.

Mr Kasumba insisted that the only hurdle is lack of proper coordination, not failure to get appropriate land. “It’s really absurd that leaders haven’t accorded this issue maximum attention yet the area is grappling with high rates of youth unemployment. The project can be a game-changer and I believe it’s high time to resurrect it,” he said.

In 2023, government resurrected this idea during President Museveni’s wealth creation tour in the sub-region.

Later, the then state minister for Investment, Ms Evelyn Anite, during a public rally at Masaka Liberation Square in Masaka City, said the President had instructed them to relocate the project to Sango-Bay estate land in neigbouring Kyotera District. But since then, no extra steps were taken to actualise this idea.

Save the foundation stone laid by President Museveni on June 18, 2015, the piece of land at Mazigo Village has remained idle for 11 years.

Proposed terms The grand project was initially spearheaded by Chinese investors through China African Friendship Association Uganda in partnership with Chinese Schuan Province who were expected to inject $300m with an anticipation to benefit over 40,000 locals.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Masaka District and the Chinese under the above consortium, the former was required to provide free land for the industrial park.

Mr John Kakande, the Masaka District chairperson, pledged to revisit this proposal, saying they can get another public land in the district or partner with private people with large chunks of land.

“The industrial park is one of the key items on my agenda being one of the major opportunities for curbing rampant unemployment,” he said during a phone interview.

In the same meeting, business operators led by Mr Edrisah Mugerwa, a manager at Kabonera Coffee Growers’ Cooperative Society asked the ministry to support them to access value addition equipment to enable them export processed goods.

Mr Masagazi urged business operators and cooperatives’ leadership to always approach the ministry so as to benefit from the wide range of services ranging from affordable capital and support to access both local and international markets, among others.

Greater Masaka previously hosted several factories and processing plants, predominantly established by the Asians. However, the old factories depreciated and eventually collapsed following the Asians’ expulsion in 1972.

The political insurgencies that followed led to the collapse of even the few that had remained. Some of these include Victoria Tea Factory (Mukungwe Sub-county), Cannery Bottling Plant (Kimaanya/Kyabakuza Division) plus a tea factory and coffee processing plants (Bukomansimbi and Kalungu districts, respectively).