MBALE, Uganda — Former Vice President Dr. Gilbert Bukenya lauded the Sino-Mbale Industrial Park for its pivotal role in driving Uganda’s industrialization agenda and contributing significantly to national development.
Bukenya, also a senior presidential adviser on environment, emphasized that the park is a tangible outcome of President Yoweri Museveni’s long-term vision, which he said, despite often being misunderstood, is now yielding substantial results for the nation.
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During a recent visit, Bukenya highlighted the park’s impressive contribution to employment. “When I visited one of the factories in the industrial park, I found over 2,000 young Ugandans busy working,” he noted. He pointed out that many of these employees had only completed primary education, showcasing the park’s ability to provide meaningful employment regardless of extensive formal schooling. Bukenya underscored the scale of job creation: “When I visited only the Mbale Industrial Park, they had almost over 4,000 young Ugandans employed. Four thousand in a small park! I thought, ‘Oh my God, I wish we had about 20 industrial parks doing exactly the same thing. We should not have any problem with youth unemployment or their capacity to work.”
Bukenya stressed that industrialization and value addition are crucial for Uganda’s future. He expressed concern over negative public discourse, urging a more positive outlook. “The future of this country is industrialization, particularly value addition to our raw materials. If we don’t embrace this, our youth will face significant problems,” he warned.
He detailed the value addition process at the park, using the textile industry as a prime example of the industrialization agenda in action. Instead of merely exporting raw cotton, the park transforms it into threads, which are then woven into cloth. This cloth is subsequently dyed, designed, and cut into finished products like shirts, trousers, or bed sheets. “What I’m talking about is jobs, jobs, jobs!” Bukenya declared, emphasizing how each step in this integrated process contributes to both industrial growth and job creation.
Endorsing the Vision for Growth
Luke Wang, Director Tian Tanga Group and CEO Uhome Holding Uganda Ltd., echoed Dr. Bukenya’s sentiments, drawing parallels between Uganda’s current development trajectory and China’s rapid economic transformation. Wang attributed China’s significant growth to its leaders’ “big vision” and prioritized infrastructure development, a strategy he sees actively mirrored in Uganda.
Wang also highlighted the critical role of Uganda’s free primary education system, which he believes significantly boosts the workforce’s English proficiency. “I can say 90% or 95% of these people can speak good English because they received this primary education,” he noted, emphasizing its importance for foreign investors.
He further explained the technology transfer and training initiatives within the park, which are central to the industrialization agenda. “We bring technologies from China, or even machinery from Korea, from Japan — not only from China — but they are the most efficient machines,” Wang said. “And we teach our people here. We train them to be engineers. They are not only doing the small works like tailoring or transporting materials. We also train those people to be engineers.” As an illustration, he cited the park’s jeans factory, which employs over 2,500 Ugandans with minimal Chinese staff, focusing on training local managers and engineers to sustain and advance the industrial capabilities.
Wang expressed an ambitious vision for “Made in Uganda” products to become a symbol of quality across Africa and globally. He aspires for these products to be exported to markets like the U.S. and U.K., aiming for “Made in Uganda” to become “another ‘Made in China’ symbol in the future.” With its current vision and commitment to industrialization, Wang predicts Uganda could emerge as East Africa’s manufacturing hub within the next five to 10 years, commending the Ugandan workforce for their intelligence and diligence.
