President Museveni has said if he is re-elected in the forthcoming 2026 General Election, he will establish an industrial park in Butiru Town Council in Manafwa District so as to create more jobs for the youth.
Currently, vermiculite is being mined in the village of Namekhala in Butiru Town Council and the area is also believed to contain iron ore deposits.
‘I am glad that we will have Manafwa industrial park, a town of industries in Namekhala where vermiculite is being mined. Vermiculite is an important mineral. It’s controls fires in the process of making strong vehicles and also satellite,’Mr Museveni, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s presidential candidate, said during his rally at Bugobero Town Council yesterday.
President Museveni is currently traversing Bugisu Sub-region for votes.
The deposits of vercumilate in Manafwa are said to be some of the richest in the world. Mining for the mineral started in the area about a decade ago.
The mineral are used in the construction, agricultural, horticultural and industrial sectors. Examples of products that contain vermiculite include potting soil mixes, loose fill insulation, and packing materials.
Mr Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, said the NRM government laid the ground for peace, development, wealth and jobs in the country, a reason, he said, he should be entrusted with another term.
‘I established Mbale Industrial Park, it’s a new one. It’s making many products, which we used to import… Now there are many young people working there. If someone asks …why you support the NRM party- say it’s because of the four pillars of peace, development, wealth and jobs,’ the incumbent said.
The Mbale Industrial Park, which was commissioned in 2018 with a total investment portfolio of $600m (Shs2.08 trillion),’ sits on 619 acres of land. It currently produces a variety of goods, including glass, textile, household detergents, baby diapers and clothes.
Mr Museveni said his government also established Lukhonge Skilling Hub in Mbale District, one of 18 vocational hubs established in the country to empower youth with hands-on skills such as carpentry and tailoring. ‘The facilities are offering free vocational training in courses and many Ugandans have benefited and are employing themselves,’ he said.
However, some voters interviewed by the Daily Monitor expressed disappointment with Mr Museveni over unfulfilled pledges.
Some voters also said there is also a lack of a long term solution to disasters such as landslides while those who deal in produce decried a lack of scanners at the Lwakhakha border in Namisindwa.
They said goods are offloaded from trucks and poured on ground for checks, damaging the quality of products, especially agricultural goods.
Voters speak out
‘The President has not fulfilled his pledge of tarmacking the 25.8km Bududa-Bubulo circular road that connects districts of Manafwa, Bududa and Namisindwa. That road has been in bad condition,’ Mr James Walimbwa said.
Recently, the district leaders and residents launched a no road, no vote campaign in which they have told the government to come up with clear plans of repairing the road after it was not listed in the national budget allocation for 2025/2026 financial year.
Mr Kamoti Wilson Wasunguyi, the incumbent Bududa District chairperson, who lost the NRM party primaries, attributed his loss to the government’s failure to tarmac that road.
‘I support the people for voting me out because I promised them that the road was to be tarmacked basing on the President’s manifesto for 2021/2026 and they were asking me why the road has not been tarmacked, I had no answer,’ he said.