President commissions Kiryandongo Crest Sugar factory.

President Yoweri Museveni has assured Ugandans that there is a lot of surplus electric power yet to be consumed in many strategic areas of investment particularly industrialization.

The President said the current surplus power including solar power can be enhanced and be used for pumping water for irrigation for agro-production when the rains are not sustainable.

“Sarrai Group proprietors are focused on innovation in investment. They gave me an idea that the surplus power can be utilised at the cost of three cents and pump water from water reservoirs for irrigation at night and be switched off in the morning. I am going to take it up. Irrigation idea is a wonderful idea for agro production,” the President said.

The President was on Saturday commissioning a new Sugar Factory, the Kiryandongo Crest Sugar. The factory, which is located in Kimogora A village, Kakwonkwo Parish, Mutunda sub county, Kibanda North constituency, Kiryandongo district seats on 13,000 acres of land and started sugar cane plantation in 2018.

The sugar product is branded ‘Kiryandongo Crest sugar’ for sweet satisfaction.

It currently has maximum processed sugar capacity of 4000 tones per day and employs about 5000 people and projecting to employ up to 8000 workers as the production increases in future.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony attended by cabinet Ministers; Hon. Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. David Bahati, the Minister of State for Trade, Hon. Jennifer Namuyangu Minister of State in-charge of Bunyoro Affairs, area MPs, the Prime Minister of Bunyoro Kingdom Andrew Kirungi Byakutaga Omucwezi among others, the President assured the nation that the government will continue supporting industrialization policy of the country.

“We want to support industries because they develop other fields like road infrastructure,” he said adding, “that government programs like Parish Development Model, Emwoga…the money injected in them originates from investors’ taxes and revenue paid to the government,” he said.

Mr. Museveni observed that development is like a chain link. “Industries provide employment to the citizens who then access cash for family economic empowerment; transport system enables government to collect taxes through fuel consumption. The core of development has also arrived here in Kiryandongo and to the grassroot Mutunda area,” he said.

The President also told them that the government will coordinate the program of connecting electricity to area, build a seed school and a health Centre for the increasing population to access services.

He tasked the Prime Minister of Bunyoro Kingdom Andrew Kirungi Byakutanga to continue uniting the people of greater Bunyoro being the area that hosts many tribes.

He thanked the people of Kiryandongo for supporting development. “This sugar factory will promote further development in the area. I congratulate the people of the area and the entire Uganda upon this milestone,” he said.

The Chairman of Kiryandongo Sugar Factory Sarbjit Singh Rai/Sarrai Group commended government support towards the establishment of factory adding to number of factories existing in the country.

“The management of the factory thank the government for supporting the investment and making it a reality promoting industrialization of the country. The total amount of monies into the investment is US $ 60 million dollars,” he said.

Chairman Sarbjit Singh further informed the President that the company has trained about 150 local farmers as about the best practiced techniques to achieve higher yield of sugar canes growing.

Bunyoro Kingdom, government officials together with the entire population in the area observed that the factory has been built in an area which used to be a forest into a commercial project with infrastructure development.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Francis Mwebesa commended the President's initiative for marketing local sugar as a good to other countries including Tanzania and Turkey.

Mwebesa said commissioning another sugar factory was another important historic event for the country appealing to the investors to work closely with the local people and district administration to protect and promote the investment.