State House to establish new Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub in Busoga

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President Yoweri Museveni has directed the establishment of an additional hub in Bugiri in the Busoga subregion.

The plan was revealed on Friday, Oct. 2, by the State House Comptroller, Ms Jane Barekye, who asked community leaders to identify suitable land to facilitate construction of the Hub complex. The new hub, she said, will expand access to vocational and industrial skills in the subregion.

State House Comptroller, Ms Jane Barekye, welcomed by officials in Bugiri in the Busoga subregion. (PPU)

“If you have land in Bugiri, we are ready to start construction. It is the President who directed that the hub be constructed in Bugiri,” Ms Barekye said during a stakeholders’ engagement at the Busoga Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub in Jinja City.

Participants included: State House officials, Resident District Commissioners and local government leaders from the region.

A release from the Presidential Press Unit states that Ms Barekye said government programmes should benefit Ugandans regardless of their political affiliation, citing the leadership of the Busoga hub by an opposition politician as exemplary.

She, however, raised concern over alleged interference in the selection of beneficiaries, saying some well-connected individuals were reportedly finding their way onto admission lists at the expense of vulnerable young people targeted by the programme.

The Comptroller said the State House would strengthen the verification process, including visiting the homes of selected beneficiaries to establish their circumstances before final admission.

State House Comptroller, Ms Jane Barekye. (PPU)

She also urged local government leaders to monitor graduates who receive start-up capital through hub SACCOs to ensure that the funds are properly utilised.

She said the government planned to inject additional funds into the SACCOs to strengthen their capacity to support graduates.

The hubs currently offer training in: welding, carpentry and joinery, bakery, tailoring, hairdressing, shoemaking, and building and concrete practice.

At the meeting, Barekye commended Iganga District LC V Chairperson Shabiru Isabirye, who also chairs the Busoga Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub, for putting the interests of citizens ahead of partisan political considerations.

According to the PPU release, Mr Isabirye, who was elected on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, praised President Museveni for establishing the skilling hubs, saying political affiliation should not prevent leaders from recognising programmes benefiting citizens.

“I stood on the NUP ticket, but I was voted in by the people, so I give credit where it is due. We have to appreciate President Museveni for this programme that has uplifted our people. I will not fail to continue thanking the President for all the development and good stewardship. Mzee has done us well, and my CAO and I are asking for a hub in Iganga.”

Cautioning hub managers and local leaders against sectarianism and discrimination based on political affiliation, Isabirye said the skilling programme had provided a second chance to the youth who might otherwise have remained unemployed by equipping them with practical skills for employment and entrepreneurship.

He also appealed to Ms Barekye to facilitate the acquisition of a land title and fencing the Busoga Zonal Hub premises to deter encroachment.

Mr Godfrey Longa, Hubs project Coordinator for Eastern and Northern Uganda, urged district selection committees to nominate suitable young people for training, emphasising that the hubs are intended to provide vocational and industrial skills rather than serve as rehabilitation centres.

New courses introduced:

The Jinja engagement followed a separate stakeholders’ meeting held on Thursday, October 1, at the Mengo Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub in Kayunga District.

The Kayunga meeting brought together State House officials and leaders from districts served by the hub to discuss training expansion, employment opportunities for graduates, SACCO financing and agricultural production.

Eng. Raymond Kamugisha, Director of Presidential Projects and Industrial Hubs at State House, who represented Ms. Barekye, said the hubs were established in response to unemployment and the growing dependency burden associated with population growth, limited access to formal education and inadequate employment opportunities.

Eng. Kamugisha said the programme admits beneficiaries regardless of their formal education background and equips them with practical skills for self-employment and enterprise development.

The hubs currently offer training in welding, carpentry and joinery, bakery, tailoring, hairdressing, shoemaking, and building and concrete practice.

He said President Museveni had directed the introduction of four additional courses: electrical installation, knitting and weaving, mechanical engineering, and plumbing.

“With all the challenges we have as a country, many can be solved through skilling, and I can tell you that our students are doing very well in the field,” Eng. Kamugisha said.

He urged local government leaders to consider qualified hub graduates for suitable contracts while encouraging graduates to actively seek opportunities from district authorities.

Eng. Kamugisha also announced that President Museveni had directed the establishment of another Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub in Luweero to serve the Greater Luweero sub-region.

Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajjat Fatuma Ndisaba challenged hub graduates to become self-driven and take advantage of opportunities provided by the government rather than continuously waiting for additional facilitation.

“You have been given free education and sh50 million for the hub SACCOs, but again you ask for transport to attend SACCO meetings at the district. Those who need the money should be ready to chase for it,” Hajjat Ndisaba said.

She also called for a government directive, implemented through the relevant ministries, to enable qualified industrial skilling hub graduates to access suitable small contracts in their respective local governments.

Hajjat Ndisaba said such opportunities would enable graduates to build their enterprises and grow their capital alongside the start-up financing available through the SACCOs.

Mr Karangwa Charles, Vice Chairperson of the Mengo Zonal Hub, commended President Museveni for the skilling initiative, saying it was improving the livelihoods of young people.

“I ask all of us to embrace this initiative because it is a programme that can help in fighting unemployment among the youth,” Mr Karangwa said.

Ms Kirabo Agnes Nantongo, Vice Chairperson of the National Women Council and Luweero District Women Council Chairperson, also commended the programme but challenged young people to stop complaining and make use of the skills and start-up financing available to them.

Ms Kirabo offered land she had previously acquired for a skilling centre to State House for consideration as a possible site for the planned Luweero hub.

“Director, I have the land, and I am donating it to you, but if it is not suitable for the State House, then you can look for another one,” Ms Kirabo said.

The engagements in Jinja and Kayunga form part of State House efforts to assess the performance of the Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs, address challenges affecting beneficiaries and strengthen the transition of graduates from training into employment, enterprise development and wealth creation.