New factories give Mbale locals hope

The recent commissioning of 16 factories at Mbale Industrial Park in Mbale City has spurred hope  that the city is on course to regain  its former glory.  

The city was once considered the  cleanest town in the early 60s and 70s. It was also a major commercial centre and home to several factories such as African Text Mile (ATM). 

However, when Idi Amin overthrew the Milton Obote government in 1971, the then Mbale Town  began its deterioration into an urban centre with a garbage management problem, poor social services, rampant unemployment, among others.

The city is slowly returning to its former exalted position with the recent commissioning of factories such as  Beyond Adhesive Products industries, Ujia Innovation Technology Ltd, Tmi Technology, Clear Space Chemical Industries East Africa Ltd, General Wares Uganda Ltd, Wekon Industries Ltd and Lida Perfect Establishments Ltd.

Others are Fafa Glass Industries Ltd, Duo Industries- SMC Ltd,  ZhongGang Metal R$D Manufacturing Co Ltd, Camry  Clothes Ltd, Chint Meters $ Electrical Uganda Co-Ltd, Hang Da Textile Co Ltd, Wan Way Textile and Garment Manufacturing  Ltd, Xinlon Textile and Garment Technology Co Ltd and Grace Textile International Investment Ltd.

The factories will produce glass, textile, household detergents, mobile phones, smart televisions, baby diapers, clothes, led bulbs, tubes, electrical meters, among others. 

Residents who spoke to Monitor  on Tuesday, expressed optimism that the new industries will spur economic growth in Mbale and provide jobs.

Mr James Magomu, a resident, said: “This NRM government is waking up now to do something which they should have done a long time ago.”

The Doko Cell chairperson, Mr Yusufu Birali, said the establishment of the factories will rid the country of its dependence  on imported goods.

“With the establishment of the park,  we are witnessing industrialisation in this town and creation of jobs ,” he said.

The city mayor, Mr Cassim Namugali, said the city is currently undergoing industrial transformation.

“We are now sure this city will regain its former glory as a cleanest and an industrialised city as it was in old days,” Mr Namugali said.

While commissioning the industries last week, President Museveni  ordered government agencies to buy locally-manufactured electricity meters and cables starting from September.

“Our factories here are making meters but the civil servants prefer importing. I  order government bodies to buy meters  and cables starting September 1.They should have stopped this automatically without waiting for me to come,” Mr Museveni said.

Chint Meters and Electrical (U) Ltd, a joint venture between Chint, Tiantang and Kampala Electric Mart at Mbale Industrial Park produces  single phase meters with an annual output of 300,000 units.

The President also pledged government support for the park to rechannel  Nabibiso River in order to  prevent  flooding. 

“We will make a channel to take water to avert floods and we will add more fire brigade vehicles as an intervention in fire outbreaks,” he said. 

Mbale Sino Industrial Park, which was commissioned  in 2018 with a total investment portfolio of $600m (about Shs2.2 trillion), houses about 36 functional factories on a 619-acre land.

Of the 36 factories,20 factories are operational, five factories are under construction and 12 are at the stage of assembling machinery. 

One of the factories, Grace Foam (U) LTD, which had a production output of 1.5 million foam play mats annually was destroyed by fire last year. Mbale Sino Industrial Park currently employs  2,000 workers.  

According to economists, the factories will promote import substitution, improve labour skills, create employment opportunities,  increase revenue, among others.

Mr Paul Zhang, the chairperson of Sino Uganda in Mbale Industrial Park,  said the park would employ 12,000 workers. 

“This wouldn’t have been possible without support from President Museveni to the Chinese investors,” Mr Zhang said.

What they say
The Chinese ambassador, Mr Zhang Lizhong, said the factories demonstrate the strong interests Chinese investors have in Uganda.

“China and Uganda are also working together to implement the nine programmes which cover areas of health, poverty reduction, agriculture, trade promotion, ICT  infrastructure,  personnel training, among others,” he said.

Mr Lizhong said the bilateral trade volume between Uganda and China increased by 6.6 percent reaching $1.13 billion by 2022. 

“We have also witnessed an upgrading of the level trade facilitation. Last December, China granted zero-tariff treatment to 98 percent taxable items exported from Uganda,” he said.

He said China direct investment to Uganda has reached $131 million (about Shs484b) in 2022, ranking the country number 10 among all African countries.

Speaking to Monitor, Mr John Mudebo, a resident, said the government should implement the physical plan the UPC government had made for Mbale.

“Its physical plan had structures like airports, children parks, rugby fields, like one in Busamaga but I was told recently that part of  that land was parcelled out and sold to developers. Our good leaders had good plans for Mbale and these must be implemented,” he said.

Mbale comprises two city divisions; Northern, which accommodates Nakaloke Town Council and sub-counties of Bukonde, Nakaloke, Namasaba, Lwaso, and Namanyonyi as well as the Industrial Division, which is made up of Bugema- Nauyo, Wanale, Bukasakya and Nambale (Bungokho-Mutoto) areas.

About Mbale
Mbale, which was upgraded to  city status  in 2021, has a population of about one million people, a rise from 25,000 people in 1972  when it became a municipality.

Nine more factories were also launched for construction including Unisteel Investment Uganda Ltd, Nice Textiles Uganda Ltd, Manfu Textiles and Garments Co Ltd and Jinli Packaging Products Ltd.

Others are JIA QI Textile Manufacturing Ltd, Hongzhi International Holding Group Ltd, Grace Foam Investment Ltd, and Huawen Steel manufacturing Ltd .

The raw materials for the factories are sourced from Uganda, India, China, Korea, USA and Dubai.