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Govt bets on 15 minerals to develop auto-parts industry
Ms Geraldine Ssali, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, during a site visit at Metu Zhongtong Bus Industries in Namanve, Wakiso District, last Thursday. Photo/Courtesy of Trade ministry
What you need to know:
- The State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatisation, Ms Evelyn Anite, says there are a lot of investors interested in value-addition on minerals.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ms Geraldine Ssali, has outlined Uganda’s minerals that can be used in vehicle assembling.
Ms Ssali noted that Uganda is endowed with minerals, which can be used for vehicle parts manufacturing.
Ms Ssali explained that minerals such as iron ore can be used for making automotive steel, silica sand for glass, rare earth elements for glass glazing, catalytic converters, batteries, and electronics. She added that graphite can make brake pads, oil for plastics, cobalt and lithium for batteries, kaolin marble and vermiculite for paint, whereas tungsten, columbite, tantalite, chromite, and titanium for metal alloys and copper for auto electric conductors and motors, among others.
While visiting the Metu Zhongtong Bus Industries plant in Namanve, Wakiso District last Thursday, Ms Ssali said the automotive industry will help Ugandans to move into middle-income status in line with Uganda’s Vision 2040.
Great potential
She explained that building the indigenous motor vehicle industry has great potential to contribute towards the desired economic and social transformation.
“It provides an exceptional opportunity for promoting value addition to Uganda’s mineral and other natural resources with the view of import substitution and export promotion of vehicles, spare parts, components, and systems,” Ms Ssali said.
She noted that industrialisation is essential for sustainable economic development.
“No country has been able to lift substantial sections of their populations out of poverty without industrialising and in most cases, rapidly growing economies have been characterised by an increasingly broad and diversified manufacturing sector,” Ms Ssali said.
Ms Ssali commended the work undertaken by the management of Metu Zhongtong Bus Industries, which she said is in line with the aspirations and vision of the people of Uganda and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto, but most importantly the objectives of the National Industrial Policy 2020.
Effects
She explained that manufacturing-led value-addition has numerous well-recognised spill over effects and embeds technology-intensity and skills formation as key elements of an upward and inclusive growth trajectory.
“We witness the tangible fruits of industrialisation, the hum of machinery, the scent of progress, and the promise of a brighter future for our people,” Ms Ssali said.
She added that the company has not only assembled buses, but has also created opportunities for employment and economic empowerment.
However, she noted that there is still a challenge of unsustainable transport models, especially in urban centres, affecting the transport industry.
The State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatisation, Ms Evelyn Anite, told this publication that there are a lot of investors interested in value-addition on minerals.
Govt plan
She noted that the government is planning to revamp Kilembe Mines in Kasese, saying almost all the minerals there are raw materials for automotive.
“We have a great number of investors who are coming on board at different intervals interested in value-addition on minerals. Some of those minerals are raw materials for manufacturing vehicles,” Ms Anite said.
She explained that adding value to minerals is a great opportunity for Uganda as it creates employment opportunities and develops the economy of the country.
Ms Anite said Uganda used to export raw materials but that value-addition will increase the revenue of the country, shows that technology is advancing.
“It is such a great opportunity that is happening in our lifetime, because initially, we were only looking at the value-addition for agriculture as a main. So, moving from agriculture to automotive is a very good opportunity for the country. It creates jobs but also it means that our economy is developing,” she said.
Electric cars
Uganda is pushing for investment in the electric vehicle sector and on many occasions, President Museveni has emphasised manufacturing and use of electric cars that are environment friendly.
A number of companies that include Kiira Motors Corporation have come up to manufacture electric vehicles that include Kayoola buses that are powered by solar energy, which are environment friendly and supplement the transport sector.
