Mukiza presenting the Budget Framework Paper 20252026 to Members of Parliament
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KAMPALA- Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development have hailed the Uganda Investment Authority for successfully advancing Uganda’s industrialization agenda and want more budgetary support.

The Members of Parliament, in particular, emphasized the need for solid financing for industrial park development to boost investments in value-adding projects and cottage industries and create jobs, especially for young people.

Uganda Investment Authority presented the Budget Framework Paper (BFP) for the financial year 2025/2026 where the Authority is seeking for Ugx 173.9 billion to cater for wage and non-wage expenditures, with the bulk of the money amounting to Ugx 161.5 billion already approved for external financing going for ongoing infrastructure development in industrial parks.

The Director General, Robert Mukiza, led the Uganda Investment Authority management team on January 16th and presented Uganda Investments Authority key priority interventions that would be promoting Uganda as the preferred destination for foreign and domestic investment in Africa and increase the value of investments.

In the financial year 2025/26, Uganda Investment Authority has another key intervention which is to improve domestic and international competitiveness and a “doing business environment” through an efficient One-Business-Stop Centre to reduce business costs.

Other key interventions are accelerating Uganda’s industrialization through serviced Industrial and Business Parks to promote investment for economic transformation and employment creation through value addition and technology transfer and undertaking research and advocacy for favorable investment measures and policies.

The planned activities include establishing appropriate value-addition infrastructure, modern packaging and branding industries and services to support value-addition, decentralized government services to the private sector through the Uganda Investment Authority One-Stop-Centre and aggressive investment promotion.

The Members of Parliament said they are happy to note the Uganda Investment Authority work in promoting investment and industrialization is visible and progressive, citing Industrial Park development, industrial growth and increasing varieties and volumes of locally made products and services.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Amos Kankunda, said that he was happy to learn that Uganda Investment Authority has created a body, the Domestic Investment Division, entirely meant to ease the investment processes for local investors.

The Committee’s Acting Vice Chairperson, Hon Dr Emely Kugonza observed that for Uganda to achieve 10-fold economic growth, there must be a strong investment in industrial park development across Uganda.

“We need to change the trajectory and narratives. The Government and the Ministry of Finance should adequately finance the Uganda Investment Authority to get our industrial growth and development to where we want to be,” Hon Kugonza said.

The Director General of Uganda Investment Authority Robert Mukiza, said the Authority is laser-focused on investments that add value to local raw materials, create jobs, and transfer technology, knowledge and skills.

Mukiza explained that Uganda Investment Authority does not favour international investors over domestic ones and emphasized that all are considered investors and are entitled to government tax and nontax incentives and said that to drive domestic investment and Uganda Investment Authority has in place a Division dedicated to domestic investment promotion.

According to the Uganda Investment Authority Deputy Director of Communications and Public Relations David Rupiny, in the financial year 2023/24, Uganda Investment Authority licensed 426 planned investment projects valued at US 2.61 billion dollars equivalent to Ugx 9.63 trillion.