The President of São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Manuel Vila Nova on a working two-day visit toured Nyanza Perch Ltd, a fish processing and export company in Jinja, Uganda.

Expressing gratitude towards President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for giving him an opportunity to visit the factory, President Vila Nova on Friday had a guided tour conducted by Nyanza Perch Ltd, Managing Director, Mr. Shahul Hameed.

Hameed said that his company processes Nile Perch from Lake Victoria and produces around 20 tonnes of processed fish a day and 200 tonnes of finished products in a month.

“That is around 2,400 finished products in a year. We export mainly to Europe with the main countries being Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Romania and also to Turkey. We also export to the Middle East and Hong Kong. We employ over 80 people directly and indirectly we employ over 1,000 people,” he said.

Hameed further told the visiting President who arrived in Uganda on Thursday that they are more concerned about sustainable fishery to ensure that the factory processes fish all year round.

“We don't want to deplete the lake, that is why we buy fish which measure 50 centimetres.”

He also stressed that they put emphasis on quality to sustain the market and they follow international and domestic fishing regulations.

Nyanza Perch Limited is a Partnership Company incorporated in Uganda in May 2018 for fish processing and Export. The company has acquired the processing facilities of Gomba Fishing Industries Ltd, Jinja, Uganda, who were the pioneers in Nile Perch Processing and Exporting in Uganda.

The facility has an EU approval No U03/18. The facility also has an approved Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system.

President Vila Nova ended his working visit to Uganda with a tour of Nyanza Textile Industries Limited (Nytil), an integrated textile manufacturing company, situated in Buikwe District.

He was guided around the factory by the company’s General Manager, Vinay Kumar.

At both visits, the Presidential party included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. Jeje Odongo and the Director General of External Security Organization (ESO), Ambassador Joseph Ocwet.

After the tour at Nytil, President Vila Nova left Uganda after a series of engagements including a private meeting with his host President Yoweri Museveni.

Friday evening, he was seen off at Entebbe International Airport by Gen. Jeje Odongo.