RT. HON. AMAMA MBABAZI
The Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business
 |  Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi: China Invests US$620m in Tororo Mining Project Uganda's Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has noted that government is encouraging foreign direct investments after discovering several commercial quantities of mineral, oil and gas deposits to enable the country attain middle-income status within the next three years. “We have induced an environment that is fully supportive of Foreign Direct Investment and we feel we are valued partners because Africa’s voice is beginning to be heard internationally in the quest for our development,” Mbabazi said. He was meeting a delegation from the China-Africa Development Fund, the largest Chinese private equity that focuses on stimulating and facilitating Chinese investments in Africa, at his office. The Fund will finance the proposed US$620m mining project in Osukuru hills in Tororo district, undertaken by a Chinese company, Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group which is prospecting for base metals, phosphates and uranium on 26sqkm covering 14 villages. Read more ▪ Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi: Govt promises to invest more in research, talent retention Government will invest more in research and young talent retention in order to control brain drain. This was revealed by Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi while launching Africa One, a web application developer, in Kampala recently.Mr Mbabazi was reacting to suggestions by the chief executive officer Africa One, Mr Yusuf Kayiwa, that young, talented and skillful Ugandan technologists are fleeing the country in search of greener pasture in Rwanda, Kenya as well as western countries.Mr Kayiwa told the Prime Minister, who was the chief guest, that there is need to create an ICT agency that will nurture and retain talents that are capable of creating ground-breaking innovations.“We need a partnership with government. And that can be done through creating a platform or an entity whose mandate will strictly be helping young people with talent to grow and shine in the area of ICT,” he said. Read more ▪ Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi: Gov't Secures Shs7tn before Budget Approval After failing to get Parliament’s support to approve the requested Vote-on-Account of UShs7tn on grounds that amount of money contained in the requisition was far above the legally required 33.33 percent or one third of the total, the State Finance Minister in charge of privatization Aston Kajara who was representing his superior Maria Kiwanuka bounced back. Asking for the same amount which still falls short of meeting the legal requirement, Kajara only edited some of allocations of Shs7tn and the same Parliament which had previously rejected the move, made a u-turn. Despite stiff resistance from opposition members, the NRM-dominated Parliament eventually carried the day. Backed by the leader of government business and Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, Kajara told lawmakers that government wanted Shs2.2 trillion for immediate development spending, Shs1.9 trillion for recurrent spending and an additional Shs2.5 trillion for statutory spending.Read more ▪  China Exim Bank to fund more projects in Uganda The President of the Export-Import Bank of China, Li Ruogu will discuss funding for more infrastructure projects in Uganda, the state minister for finance in charge of general duties, Jachan Omach disclosed .Ruogu, who is on a three-day visit to Uganda, arrived in Uganda for discussions on the financing of Karuma and Isimba hydropower projects.Speaking to journalists shortly after the arrival of Exim Bank officials at Entebbe Airport, Omach said Ruogu would also discuss funding for other infrastructure projects.Ruogu was scheduled to meet the Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi and the minister of finance, Maria Kiwanuka .Read more ▪ Mbabazi woos agricultural goods investors Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has invited Louis Dreyfus Commodities, a leading global merchandizer of commodities and processor of agricultural goods to consolidate their position in Uganda and the entire East African region. Mbabazi welcomed the investors to the country, describing Uganda as one of the best investment destinations in the world.He said the Government was ready to offer them all the necessary support they require to establish themselves in the country.The Premier made the remarks on Tuesday, while receiving Ciro Echesortu, the Chief Executive Officer, Louis Dreyfus commodities, the third largest global integrated commodities group in the world in revenue terms.The investors from Louis Dreyfus who wish to establish a regional hub in Uganda were accompanied by Alykan Mukwano of the Mukwano Group.Louis Dreyfus Commodities operates a network of assets around the world and their activities include merchandizing of agricultural products and metals in addition to production, sourcing, storage, transport and distribution. Read more ▪  Gov’t Rolls Out Shs105bn For Rural Loan Associations Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has disclosed that the government has designed a new rural financial services programme, the Project for Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas (PROFIRA) under which village savings and loan associations will be supported.Mbabazi said the seven-year Shs 105bn project would be funded by the Rome-based United Nations agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) which has already committed $30m (close to Shs 80bn) on concessional terms. He was speaking as Chief Guest during the 6th Annual General Meeting of Butuuro People’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Society in Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality .He said the government was reviewing financial laws to protect people’s savings in banks, microfinance institutions, and village savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOs). “Saving is a source of wealth but Ugandans have the worst saving culture in the world with less than one percent,” Mbabazi noted. He advised them to emulate the Japanese, whose economy is the third richest and save 60 percent of their income for investment. Read more ▪  Mbabazi Meets American Investor Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has said Uganda is one of the leading foreign direct investment destinations in Africa and the leading country in the East African region. Flanked by the Minister for energy and mineral development, Irene Muloni and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Prof. Zerubabel Nyiira, Premier said Government is now focussing on strengthening all the sectors of the economy to make Uganda very competitive at the global stage. The Premier made the remarks on Tuesday while receiving the Chief executive officer for Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation in charge of Africa, Victor Hanna, who called on him at his office in Kampala. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is one of the leading diversified natural resources groups with integrated mining, processing, energy, logistical and marketing operations with its headquarters in London. Mbabazi said Uganda’s economy is private sector led, adding that Government has created a conducive environment for investment.Read more ▪  Mbabazi Woos Swedish Investors Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has invited Swedish investors to come to Uganda and take advantage of the lucrative trade and investment opportunities.Mbabazi said Uganda has favourable conditions for investment, adding that the country is ready to give prospective investors all the necessary support they require to invest in the country. Premier Mbabazi made the remarks while meeting the Swedish Minister for Finance, Anders Borg who called on him at his office in Kampala. The Swedish Finance Minister was in the country to discuss business opportunities which can be exploited by Swedish nationals who intend to invest in the East African region. Read more ▪  Govt to multiply number of coffee trees, productivity Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has met a delegation from the largest coffee roaster in Europe, D.E Master Blenders at his office in Kampala. The company is also the third largest coffee roaster globally, with headquarters in the Netherlands. During the meeting on Tuesday, Mbabazi disclosed that the government had embarked on an ambitious programme to multiply the number of coffee trees in the country, and increase their productivity. He said agricultural zoning was critical for household poverty eradication. Mbabazi urged the company to develop strategic relationships with farmers in support of the programme. The company is already operating in Luwero district focusing on quality improvement, good agricultural practices and improved market access for participating producer groups.“I can assure you of total support to facilitate that partnership because our economy is private sector-led and I don’t see this changing soon,” Mbabazi said. He noted that proceeds from the nascent oil industry would be used to boost agricultural production, value addition and product quality to international standards. Read more ▪  Mbabazi courts Chinese investors The Government is scouting for Chinese companies to take over contracts for infrastructural projects. Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said the companies would source the funds on their own and get paid when revenues from oil and gas start flowing in. “Our government is concentrating on a few priorities due to insufficient funding and China is to fund a number of these,” Mbabazi said at the conclusion of his one-week visit to China where he had been invited by the ruling Community Party of China. Read more ▪ Government wants statistics certified All statistics used in government’s semi-annual and annual performance reports will have to be validated and certified by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) effective next financial year, the Prime Minister has said.Speaking at the launch of the certification mark for official statistics in Uganda. Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that data used in government’s performance reports are certified as one way of building credible reports used in decision making and accountability purposes. Read more ▪ |  |