First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East Africa Community Affairs, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has said that there is a need to support individuals and groups in Busoga, engaged in agriculture and tourism.

The farmers, she said should be assisted to add value to fruits to enhance transformation and be given tips on innovations in the tourism sector.

She was speaking while making a presentation about ‘The Busoga we want’ during the one-day Busoga sub-region Investment Forum organized by Uganda Development Bank in conjunction with Busoga Kingdom, at the Civil Service College of Uganda in Jinja City on Friday under the theme “Breaking the Barriers-Exploring Investment Opportunities in Busoga sub-region.”

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East Africa Community Affairs Rebecca Kadaga (middle) chatting with the Minister of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba (R) as Busoga Kingdom's second deputy Prime Minister Alhaj Osman Ahmed Noor (L) looks on while at the Busoga sub-region investment forum organised by Uganda Development Bank at Civil Service College of Uganda in Jinja City on Friday. Photo by Donald Kiirya

She stressed that once people embrace value addition, they will penetrate international markets.

Other leaders at the centre of the drive are the Executive Director National Planning Authority and also Busoga Kingdom’s Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muvawala,  Minister of General Duties in the office of the Prime Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba and  Jinja City Mayor Alton Kasolo.

In her remarks, Kadaga requested UDB’s Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) Patricia Ojangole to avail capital for value to fruits like pineapples and sugarcane, for tourism development and mining activities among others.

“We want to develop the value chain in sugarcane, It’s not just about sugar, all that waste is a resource for our development. We want to produce sugarcane juice, toilet paper, syrup for medicine, paper and mats,” Kadaga said, adding that if they develop that value chain, they will create employment for many people including those who are not very skilled and on this note requested for support from UDB.

“In Busoga sub-region we grow a lot of pineapples but there is no factory to process these pineapples.  In addition to processing the fruit, we can also support people to add value to pineapple leaves to develop the pina cloth.

 In Philippines, the clothes which President Bongbong Marcos, and all the Philippines use on formal occasions are clothes made from pineapple leaves which we do not have to pay for in our country,” Kadaga said.

She said that adding value to pineapple leaves is another low-hanging fruit and through that chain, people can be able to manufacture pina clothes like wedding gowns and sell them at a higher cost.

Some of the stakeholders attending the Busoga sub-region investment forum organised by Uganda Development Bank at Civil Service College of Uganda in Jinja City on Friday. Photo by Donald Kiirya

Kadaga further requested UDB’s Ojangole to support Busoga in developing all tourist sites by availing people with capital to construct accommodation facilities or to construct modern clean houses which they will be hiring out to tourists.

She urged Jinja City Council to make use of the Source of the Nile as a major income earner after re-developing it adding that Egypt earns a lot of revenue from the River Nile whereby tourists go and pay just to sit and enjoy on leisure boats.

Kadaga, who is also the Kamuli district Woman MP further urged UDB to support Basoga in exploration and mining activities in Busoga since the region has a lot of diverse minerals.

Busoga Kingdom’s Second Deputy Prime Minister Owek. Alhaji Osman Ahmed Noor, who represented the Kyabazinga of Busoga William Gabula Nadiope IV at the symposium was thankful to the management of UDB for responding to their call to take centre stage in reducing poverty levels in the region through increasing investment opportunities by supporting people’s businesses.

“Our people work hard every day, but with little impact due to lack of capacity to produce to a sustainable scale. The support UDB is providing will go a long way in bridging this gap in the productivity chain for our people,” said the Kyabazinga.  

The Monarch further urged the Basoga to unite and work as a team or in teams if they are to benefit from any government support. He also told them to focus on issues that matter, add value, unite and bring them development and avoid polarising people in political and other camps.

The Kyabazinga requested UDB to invest resources in sensitisation, education and give technical support to people especially those in informal sectors adding that the Obwa Kyabazinga Bwa Busoga institution is very well positioned to help UDB through its kingdom structures that permeate to village and family level.

He thanked Basoga professionals, technocrats and members of academia who are actively involved in contributing to the rebuilding of the socioeconomic glory of Busoga and Uganda.

To the Busoga investors, the Kyabazinga  urged them to be more ambitious in venturing into areas that seem difficult, for example mining.

Dr. Joseph Muvawala the NPA boss , told stakeholders that success is a good story but also a function of repeated actions.

Muvawala expressed anger over officials in the Jinja lands committee office who requested money (kintu kidogo) from people in order to process land titles for them.

Ojangole  the UDB’s CEO  said UDB social programs serve to implement and manage interventions in the categories of SMEs, Women, Youth and Business Advisory Services from start-ups to existing businesses with appropriate financial and non-financial solutions. 

Ojangole said UDB products include SME Kazi loans, Women Prosper loans, Youth Step-up loans and Business Accelerator for successful Entrepreneurship and all customers under these categories have the same application process where one is required to fill the special programs application form in substitution of a business plan and there after attach the standard requirements for special programs. 

Present at the Business Investment Forum was the Isabalangira of Busoga Samuel Zirabamuzale Nkuutu, Royal Chiefs, UTB chairperson Daudi Migereko, Namutumba district woman MP Mariam Naigaga, Buzaaya MP Martin Muzale, Kagoma County MP Moses Walyomu, Bunya East MP James Kubeketerya, Busoga Kingdom Ministers, Business community and Forum for Democratic Change's vice president Eastern Salamu Musumba