Kadaga advises on minerals in Busoga

The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has called on investors to explore the huge potential of mineral resources in Busoga region where she comes from.

"We are endowed with a lot of minerals; I asked the district leaders in Busoga to use data since we gave them maps to establish where these mineral resources are located," said Kadaga.

She noted that the region has many untapped mineral deposits that can be utilised to improve the welfare of Ugandans living in Busoga.

The speaker made the remarks at parliament on Wednesday while meeting the Busoga Consortium, an umbrella body bring together all the political leaders hailing from Busoga.

Busoga is comprised of the following districts; Bugiri District, Buyende District, Iganga, Jinja, Kaliro, Kamuli, Luuka, Mayuge,  Namayingo and Namutumba.

Kadaga, the patron of Busoga Consortium commended the progress being made in lobbying for the growth of the region and tasked the group to do more in promoting mineral development in the area.

Bugiri, Iganga and Mayuge have rare earth metals such as alloys used in the construction and manufacturing of automobile (cars, aero plane) parts, and largely in electronics. 

Iganga district has potential deposits of gold and nickel whereas Mayuge has potential deposits of iron ore.

Several districts also have industrial minerals such as clay, sand, and coltan, among others.

The Speaker also told the meeting that progress had been made in improving marine transport in region, which would ease transportation products from the region to markets.

"I am glad to announce that there is going to be water transport service from Entebbe to Jinja. The boat is expected to take two and a half hours in transit, and I will launch it soon," she said.

Kadaga asked the Consortium to lobby for Government's input in the preservation of heritage sites located in the region, including the source of the Nile and the newly established Ghandi Memorial.

The Minister for the Presidency, Esther Mbayo who hails from Luuka commended the Speaker for her support to the Consortium's activates as their Patron.

"We have had several rallies where we are teaching the public about the development agenda of the Consortium. We have also received positive response from stakeholders," Mbayo said.

During the meeting, the highlights of the Busoga development agenda were presented to the Speaker, including education and skills development; commercializing agriculture; tourism - culture and heritage; road and water infrastructure development; industrialization; urban and human settlement and environmental sustainability.

Uganda enjoys a wealth of over 50 minerals ranging from gold, copper, iron ore, vermiculite, tin, tantalite, tungsten, nickel, platinum and phosphate but exploiting them to use for development has been a problem.