FAMReports News Desk | Kasese Uganda
Four years after its high profile commissioning by President Yoweri Museveni in 2021, the Kasese Industrial and Business Park stands in stark contrast to the vision it once inspired. It is a neglected overgrown expanse that has failed to live up to its promise as a beacon of Uganda’s industrial transformation.
Spanning 275 acres along the Kasese Mbarara Highway just three kilometres from the heart of Kasese Municipality the park was envisioned as a catalyst for regional development. It was supposed to attract investors create jobs and support value addition to Ugandan products. Instead today it is a site of disillusionment covered in bush littered with incomplete structures and largely abandoned by the investors who were allocated plots.
Unfulfilled Potential
The initiative was part of a broader national strategy to reduce unemployment and boost industrial productivity. Yet a recent inspection of the area paints a bleak picture. Except for a signpost and a few skeletal buildings there is little to show for what was projected as a game changer.
“This place should be bustling with factories and workers but instead it is turning into a wilderness” remarked Kasese Municipal Mayor Mr Chance Kahindo in an interview. He noted that many investors who once showed interest have long since deserted the site.
Among the notable investors was Metu Africa Bus Industries which was allocated 100 acres with the ambitious promise of establishing an automobile manufacturing hub to produce buses locally. That commitment has remained largely unfulfilled. To date no construction or groundwork has begun on the allocated land.
Neglected Recommendations and Dormant Investments
Following a recent assessment the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) identified several critical infrastructural gaps preventing the park’s success. These included the urgent need for a Drainage Master Plan improved road networks and reliable water supply. Yet none of these recommendations have been implemented further discouraging both current and prospective investors.
Local leaders are growing increasingly impatient. “We cannot allow this vital resource to go to waste” Mr Kahindo declared. The municipal authority has given absentee investors until the end of June to report to the site and initiate construction. “If they fail we will terminate their contracts and reallocate the land” he warned.
The park’s inactivity has not only dashed investor confidence but also disheartened the local community which once had high hopes for employment and economic empowerment.
Voices from the Community
Residents too are dismayed. Mr Julius Masereka a resident of Kidodo Cell believes the park could have transformed the region. “Kasese has what it takes to become an industrial hub for Uganda. We have seen what industries can do. But now nothing is happening and the people are suffering” he said.
He also cited the closure of past industrial giants such as Muhokya Lime Works Katwe Salt Factory and the Kasese Cobalt Company as evidence of a recurring pattern of missed opportunities in the district.
Others see a way forward. Ms Jane Musimenta a labourer at a local palm oil processing plant suggests that small scale industries currently scattered around Kasese Town should be relocated to the industrial park. “This would decongest the town and help establish a central industrial zone” she proposed.
A Politically Motivated Project
Not everyone believes the intentions behind the park were sincere. Mr John Kisembo Siriwayo the Kasese Municipal Secretary for Works and Social Services expressed skepticism alleging that the park was more of a political campaign tool than a genuine development initiative.
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“All that construction road grading and utility expansion what have we gained from it” he asked. Mr Siriwayo who is also the councillor for Railway Ward disclosed that the municipal council has resolved to repossess land from absentee investors and readvertise the plots to serious developers.
His sentiments were echoed by Kasese District Chairperson Mr Eliphazi Muhindi Bukombi who urged authorities to act decisively. “The municipality must ensure those allocated land commence development. If not new investors who are ready to build should be brought in” he asserted.
What Next for Kasese
The failed implementation of the Kasese Industrial and Business Park reflects broader challenges facing Uganda’s industrialisation agenda where policy vision often clashes with ground level realities of infrastructure investor confidence and implementation gaps.
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For now the Kasese Municipality leadership is attempting to course correct by cracking down on dormant investments and reassessing how the park can be revived. However without a coordinated effort involving national agencies investors and local stakeholders the project risks becoming yet another symbol of unfulfilled promise.
As June’s deadline approaches all eyes will be on the next moves by both the authorities and investors. For the people of Kasese the hope is that the park will not remain a monument to broken promises but instead be transformed into the vibrant industrial hub it was meant to be.
