Factories meant to change lives in Kayunga lying idle

Officials from State House and the secretariat for resident district commissioners (RDCs) were dismayed when they found two factories constructed by the government in Kayunga District to improve livelihoods of locals lying idle.  

The team led by Dr James Tweheyo, a deputy RDC at the secretariat of RDCs, inspected the factories to ascertain whether or not there is value for money in the government-funded projects last Friday.

The Shs2b soap and cooking oil factory and a Shs2.5b pineapple juice factory are located in Busaale Village.

The team was told that the pineapple juice processing factory was constructed by the National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads)  on the directive of President Museveni, to add value to pineapples. However, the factory has not commenced operations yet construction works were completed two years ago. 

Meanwhile, the soap and cooking oil factory, another presidential donation to youth and women in the district, was closed two months after it was commissioned by Mr Museveni in 2015.

The officials were also informed that some of the machines at the same factory had been vandalised. 
 Dr Tweheyo was not amused. 

“This is unacceptable. How can such a factory meant to add value to pineapples and also create jobs for locals, remain unutilised for years?” Dr Tweheyo queried.

Ms Gertrude Obedi, another State House official, agreed, saying: “This is unacceptable. Something should be done to ensure that these factories become operational.” 

Local leaders told the team that the soap and cooking oil factory was allegedly hijacked by Ms Aida Nantaba, the Kayunga District Woman MP.

The factory has since 2014 remained abandoned while trucks and a tractor, which were meant to be used to transport raw materials and finished products  are now hired to cattle traders and farmers.

The leaders said most of the machines at the same factory have been sold off over the years. 
Ms Nantaba, who showed up in the area when the officials were inspecting the defunct factory which was under her management, did not participate in the inspection exercise. 

In an earlier interview, the lawmaker said the factory was closed due to the lack of raw materials such as groundnuts and simsim. Kayunga District is neither a groundnut nor simsim growing area.  

“The factory hit a snag. Initially the plan was to buy the raw materials from other areas such as Soroti, Pallisa, Kaberamaido, and some parts of Busoga Sub-region, where the needed raw materials are cultivated, but it was not cost-effective to do so because of the high costs involved, including transporting the raw materials to the factory,” Ms Nantaba said.

In 2020, leaders in Kayunga urged the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate the closure of the soap factory.

Last year, Mr Michael Shiwu, the value chain development officer at Naads, said the factory would be opened at the end of last year. This did not materialise. 

A source who preferred not to be named for personal security reasons, told this publication that the pineapple juice processing factory has not been opened due to ownership wrangles of the project.

The source said the fight is between pastor Aarom Mutebi to whom the President donated the factory, Naads, Sem Agritech which constructed the factory, and Kayunga pineapple farmers’ cooperative society members who want to manage the plant.

Ms Hadja Nakakande the Naads public relations officer, had not answered repeated calls by press time. But she told this publication last year that: “We are sorting management issues before we can open it.”

About the factories
The government constructed a Shs2b soap and cooking oil factory in 2014 and a Shs2.5b pineapple juice factory in 2022.

Both factories were meant to create jobs for locals and add value to produce of farmers and also improve household incomes.