President Museveni has pledged that his government will avail Kiira Motors Corporation with Shs40 billion to complete setting up their plant in Jinja.
The President who made this pledge while officiating at the Presidential CEO Forum (PCF)’s two-day 4th Bi-Annual CEO Retreat held at Kiira
The vehicle plant in Jinja, also assured that they will support the Corporation by buying buses for government institutions.
Dubbed under the theme “Uganda’s Industrialization Agenda: Positioning Uganda as a net source of E-Mobility Solution in Africa”, this high-level
meeting was aimed at highlighting the private sector’s driving role in the country’s development.
President Museveni also advised Ugandans and foreign investors to instead work towards adding value to the country’s products in order to
help the country achieve the much-desired socio-economic transformation agenda.
“We have been funding these efforts (of the private sector) but initially we were getting disturbances from the Ministry of Finance because it was not supporting them fully. Why don’t you see that, that is a big loss. When you export unprocessed raw materials, you lose a lot of money.
Then you have an Auditor General, why don’t you audit this lost value? Why have you never reported it?” the President expounded.
“A country like South Korea doesn’t have the resources that Uganda has but they are intelligent. They are mainly using intellectual labor. Therefore, I appeal to everybody concerned to wake up,” he added.
President Museveni also cautioned politicians and civil servants who frustrate investors willing to develop the country to stop it because it drives
the country backward.
He said years back, he wanted to add value to Uganda’s milk but some uninformed group of people frustrated him and the foreign investor and by the end of the day, the businessman gave up on investing in Uganda.
In her remarks, the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja thanked the President for creating a secure environment in Uganda that has enabled industrialization and e-mobility to prosper.
“You cannot talk about industrialization in Sudan now, you cannot talk about industrialization in Ukraine but here we are. Please join me to thank him for this secure environment,” Rt. Hon. Nabbanja stated.
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga also expressed gratitude to the
government for setting up a powerful industry- Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja.
“Here in Jinja, we shall have the power center for charging electric buses and motorcycles. It will also have a ticketing point. With that, Jinja City will be a model city in Africa for e-mobility. This will also create employment opportunities for our people,” Rt. Hon. Kadaga said.
The Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Musenero told the President that Uganda has made tremendous strides as far as the e-
the mobility industry is concerned and she said apart from making the first ever electric vehicle in Africa, Uganda is now home to the biggest electric bus production plant in Africa- Kiira Vehicle Plant, which is going to be commissioned before the end of this calendar year.
“We made the first electric vehicle designed and built in Africa- the Kiira EV in 2011 is the first ever electric vehicle built in Africa. Your Excellency, the President became arguably the first-ever head of state recorded to be driven in an Electric vehicle. The first solar powered designed and built in Africa is the Kayoola Solar bus in 2016 built here in Uganda. The first fully electric bus designed and built in Africa is the Kayoola EVS in 2019,” she noted.
The event was also attended by the Finance Minister, Hon. Matia Kasaija, Trade Minister, Hon. Francis Mwebesa, Works and Transport Minister,
Gen. Katumba Wamala, Members of Parliament, State House Comptroller, Ms. Jane Barekye, the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) Managing Director, Lt. Gen James Mugira, among other dignitaries.
