HON. AJEDRA GABRIELGADISON ARIDRU
The Minister of State for Investment
 |  SMI: Ministry blames slow investment on red tape State minister for Investment Gabriel Ajedra has blamed Uganda’s slow investment growth on government agencies and other sector players that create unnecessary bottlenecks to frustrate investors.Speaking at the Investor awards gala organised by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Mr Ajedra said while there are policies which favour both local and foreign investment, some service providers delay the process making the country’s performance on the regional and global scene poor.Mr Ajedra said: “Why should an investor make endless journeys trying to acquire a signature or certificate of construction from the city authority or power permit from the electricity service provider? This is absurd and it must change if we are to realise speedy growth in this country.” Read more ▪ SMI: Minister urges South African tycoons to invest in Uganda State minister for Investment Gabriel Ajedra Aridru has urged South African investors to invest in Uganda especially in commercialised farming, real estate, mining, trade and tourism, among other sectors.While speaking as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of South African Trade and Invest seminar on Wednesday, Dr Ajedra said the above sectors present virgin opportunities for investment.He said: “Uganda has high deposits of unexplored minerals on top of the already discovered, like oil and Iron ore, the country‘s real estate is underdeveloped and cannot accommodate the current middle class. Uganda is endowed with fertile soils coupled with a good climate for commercialised agriculture.” Read more ▪  Minister cautions against repeat of past dam mistakes The state minister for investment, Dr. Gabriel Ajedra, has cautioned energy sector players to avoid past mistakes that proved costly as the Government embarks on building new power plants.The Government has started the construction of new power projects such as the 600MW Karuma dam and Isimba dam.“I do hope that the mistakes made on Nyagak 1 will not be repeated. For us as politicians in West Nile, it gave us huge headache. We could not defend the actions of the energy players. How could a dam of 3.5MW take to be completed?” he asked.“If Nyagak 1 was designed well, we could have generated about 7MW. Now we have to build Nyagak 3 in the same spot. Why?”Speaking at the handover ceremony of the new board of the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), Ajedra said the delay in getting the Bujagali project on the grid was costly. Read more ▪ Investment experts recommend northern Uganda for business Experts have advised investors to consider the north for investment given the vast untapped opportunities in the region. Economic researchers, members of the civil society and government officials said the region is blessed with vast fertile land that can be used for commercial farming, agro-processing, and is rich in minerals and oil. “This makes it a potential region for both local and international investors,” said Gabriel Ajedra, the state minister for investment. Read more ▪ |