By Mulengera Reporters
In October 2023, the big-talking Burundian investor Adrien Ntigaciga met with President Museveni and cajoled him into believing that within 18 months, he would (upon getting government support) have in place a fertilizer-making factory up and running at Kampiringisa where he would create 600 jobs for the youths from Mpigi’s Sub Counties of Mudduma, Kamengo and Kiringente.
Adrien Ntigaciga was to do all this under his company called Itracom Ltd. He claimed he was already doing this fertilizers manufacturing business in both Tanzania and Burundi where he claimed he was churning out 350,000tns and 1million tns respectively annually. Being a jjaja who wishes well for his bazzukulu/the youths, the young people, Gen Museveni became enchanted and immediately wrote to Prime Minister Robinnah Nabbanja directing her to ensure the investor gets help.
Adrien Ntigaciga’s talking points were to the effect that there was need to increase local fertilizers manufacturing inside Uganda to eliminate importation and also increase agricultural productivity. A case was made to the effect that low fertilisers application was responsible for declining agricultural productive in Uganda, a country whose fertilizer utilisation rate stood at 1.5-2kg per acre, as opposed to the recommended or preferrable 50kgs.
An enchanted Museveni directed Nabbanja to ensure the Gender Ministry-supervised National Rehabilitation Center (NRC, which uses the government’s 377 acres of land at Kampiringisa to sustain Uganda’s leading juvenile detention center) parts with 130 acres for utilization by the Burundian investor’s company-Itracom.
The investor assured Gen Museveni that he would rely on cow dung from Uganda’s cattle corridor for the raw materials required to run the factory at Kampiringisa. A case was made to the effect that once fertilizers became cheaply available to Ugandan farmers, production of crops like coffee, palm oil, tea, maize and irish potatoes would qualitatively and quantitatively increase in the country. This would serve both the domestic market and exports to boost foreign exchange receipts.
The other terms of the supposed PPP between Itracom and the GoU related to the Shs80bn which the Burundian investor had to be given to immediately increase fertilizers’ availability to Ugandan farmers by importing the same from Tanzania, where he was supposed to have already established himself as a leading manufacturer of the same.
Each of the 600 Ugandan youths who were supposed to be employed at the Kampiringisa factory would earn a starting monthly salary of Shs400,000.
But the Gender Ministry was cautious and that’s why the NRC principal or head was instigated to initially part with 100 acres, and not the entire 130 at once as the President had directed. Because the land was being used to sustain livestock and grow food to feed the hundreds of juveniles who are always remanded at the Kampiringisa facility, they preferred to be using the remaining 30 acres in the meantime.
But by and large, the investor was given most of the things that were required to set up the factory and deliver the 600 jobs as was promised to the President within 18 months, counting from October 2023. Today, more than 2 years later, there isn’t much on the ground. The project is yet to be delivered.
And instead of owning up to their inability to deliver, Itracom has resorted to blaming GoU Ministries like the one of water, works and gender for allegedly dragging their feet on the President’s directives. The President had directed Nabbanja to ensure that the three Ministries prioritize putting in place the enabling infrastructure and amenities to accelerate the feetilizers factory project.
According to reporting by Weekend Vision, Musa Maryani who serves as Itracom General Manager says that NRC’s refusal to give them the remaining 30 acres of land has caused them significant delays. Yet the bitter truth is that the other 100 acres was promptly processed by the Lands Ministry and all the relevant documentation handed over to them.
The Gender Ministry PS Aggrey Kibenge, who supervises the NRC, dismisses this and says the company ought to have proceeded utilizing the 100 acres that was already given to them as they wait for the remaining 30, instead of looking for people to blame for their failure to deliver within 18 months as was promised to the President.
On his part, Musa Maryani maintains that all the Ministries the President directed to support them have been lukewarm in their approach towards them with exception of Gen Katumba Wamala’s Works Ministry, which responded promptly on the understanding that the fuel to run the graders to open up priority roads had to be provided by the Itracom investor himself.
Investors showing up at State House to excite President Museveni by talking big and promising big things only to end up delivering very little (if at all), has been rampant practice in Uganda where many such much-hyped projects end up becoming white elephants, a thing which politically embarrasses the President and thereby diminishing his personal credibility among ordinary voters. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
