President Museveni plants a tree at Atiak Sugar Factory during his visit to access the progress. Photos by Eden Mic
By Eden Mic
Amuru: President Yoweri Museveni has condemned individuals and leaders who are against the use of land for industrial development, calling them an enemy of the country and the entire continent.
Museveni made the remarks during his visit to assess the progress of the Atiak Sugar Project on Saturday.
Before the president’s remarks, Denis Otema, the LCI of Pachilo East Village, Pachilo Parish, Atiak Sub-County, Amuru District, told the president that many locals in Amuru were against such developments because the leaders in the district don’t speak one language, which confuses the population and complicates leadership.
According to President Museveni, the people disagreeing over the land being used by Atiak Sugar Factory are opportunists and instead explained that Atiak Sugar Factory has the potential to stimulate the growth of the Acholi and its neighbors in terms of employment.
Information from the company indicates that the number of people employed at the factory will increase from 543 currently, to 1,508 once production starts in July 2025.
Museveni said apart from the sugar, the factory can facilitate the establishment of industries for making ethanol, besides providing by-products such as molasses for cows, and animal feeds.
He cited that when Gulu University was established, it caused the development of real estate in the area in terms of supporting students’ hostels and other businesses.
“So, therefore, urbanization, especially urbanization of industrialization is very important for the area. And anybody who opposes that is either blind or an enemy of the people,” Museveni said.
Museveni onto Acholi land size
Museveni explained that the Acholi sub-region covers over 27,000 square kilometers, and the Atiak Sugar factory covers only 25,000 acres, which can spur the growth of other parts of the sub-region.
He advised individuals and leaders against branding the land as “theirs”, saying they are “enemies of Acholi and of Uganda”.
The Minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, the Hon. Francis Mwebesa commended the president for prioritizing industrialization to create employment, wealth, and community transformation.
Mwebasa advised the managers of the sugar factory not to wait until they had a lot of sugarcane to start producing sugar, for the public to know that the factory was working.
He called upon all the partners other government agencies and civil society organizations to the growth and success of the sugar factory.
Proprietor applaud gov’t support
On her part, Dr. Amina thanked the government of Uganda under the stewardship of President Museveni for the support towards her company that has enabled them to register progress.
She also assured the President that her company is ready to work with farmers and get a market for their produce.
Amina thanked the government for supporting the factory through mechanization and irrigation.
In the financial year 2022/2023, the parliament passed a supplementary budget of shs 108 billion, which the Uganda Development Corporation, UDC used to purchase the machines to upgrade the factory from using intensive labor to machines.
The machines include heavy-duty tracks, sugarcane harvesters and planters, tractors, and irrigation equipment, among others.
“These machines required a heavy training cost which we took on to make sure that our workforce is all Ugandan and from this regional area”, Amina said, adding “As you have seen on your visit the pivots, pipes, and pumps are all installed by our locals. I have been in serious learning about the implementation of these machines.”
The factory can crush 1,650 tons of raw sugarcane, and produce 66,000 tons of sugar annually. However, I temporarily ceased production in 2022 due to persistent fires that burned the sugarcane plantation, leading to a shortage of sugarcane to feed the factory.
The factory workers have revived 3,000 acres of burned sugarcane and are constructing irrigation pipes. Production of sugar is expected to start in July 2025.
