The investments on the list include 60 billion Shillings to capitalize two road construction companies,10 billion Shillings for a Cocoa processing plant in Bundibugyo, another 10 billion for the Masaka fruit factory and, 21.9 billion Shillings for the expansion of buildings as well as procurement of the Orange Line for the Soroti fruit factory.
Members of the
Budget Committee of Parliament have asked their counterparts in the Trade commitee to
examine the viability of investing 269 billion Shillings through Uganda
Development Corporation (UDC) to multiple private enterprises.
This followed a presentation of
the report of the Trade committee on the National Budget Framework Paper for the financial year 2022/2023 to the budget committee. In the report, commitee Chairperson Mwine Mpaka said that under
the manufacturing program, the sector faces a budget shortfall of 548 billion
Shillings in unfunded priorities of which 269.4 billion is required for the
capitalization of enterprises under Uganda
Development Corporation.
The investments on the list include 60 billion Shillings to capitalize two
road construction companies,10 billion Shillings for a Cocoa processing plant in
Bundibugyo, another 10 billion for the Masaka fruit factory and, 21.9 billion Shillings for the expansion of buildings as well as procurement of the Orange Line for the Soroti fruit
factory.
In the same allocation, 5.5 billion
Shillings is needed for coffee processing in Kampala, another 5.5 billion Shillings to procure land and construct a Soluble Coffee factory in Wakiso, two billion to address the working capital needs
for Mabale tea, 10 billion for master planning and procurement of machinery in Kyarushozi
tea, one billion Shillings for coffee
grading and roasting in Masaka, 30 billion Shillings for grains value addition and 50
billion for civil works at Moroto-Ateker cement factory.
Mpaka told the Budget Committee that
the government has shares in some of the listed enterprises while others are private. However, the Budget
Committee tasked Mpaka and the Trade committee to investigate and ascertain the
ownership of the companies, the shares owned by the government in each of them and the viability of the
investments, among others.
Ndorwa East MP
Wilfred Niwagaba asked the Trade Committee to ascertain who owns the enterprises, why they are
being capitalized, and how the government will benefit from the investment.
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Sheema
Municipality MPDickson Kateshumbwa tasked the Trade Committee to explain the four billion Shillings
capitalization for a steel processing factory in Western Uganda, yet there are
reports that there is no capacity for this. Kateshumbwa also sought to know who
owned the factory and how they got selected.
Amolatar Woman
MP Agnes Atim Apea questioned what informed the investments and inquired whether they are
aligned to the National Development Plan. She cited a need to interrogate UDC to
ascertain the choice of these investments.
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Patrick Nsamba Oshabe, the Kassanda
North MP said that UDC is now becoming a conduit for mismanagement and asked whether
the governance challenge in UDC had been resolved before the money can be
allocated.
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Mpaka told the committee that they
have already been examining the shares of the government in some of the companies, a task that takes a lot of time. He however said that they will look into who owns all
the companies that are getting support and also the viability of investments.
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Mpaka also clarified that UDC got a new Board that was put
in place last year in December, and that its operations should be better.
