The Private Sector Foundation Uganda, the country’ apex body for the private sector has hailed the appointment of Gen Wilson Mbadi as the new state minister in charge of trade.
“We welcome Gen Mbadi to the Ministry of Trade. He is quite switched on and understands the region very well,” Sarah Kagingo, the vice chairperson for the PSFU board of directors said.
President Museveni on Thursday night dropped Gen Mbadi as the Chief of Defence Forces in the UPDF and appointed him to a ministerial position, in a change that surprised many.
Having joined the Ugandan military in 1986, Mbadi, a graduate of the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom where he topped his class has served in different capacities in the UPDF
He has previously served as the Aide De Camp for President Museveni, before appointing him commander of the fourth infantry division headquartered in Gulu, Joint Chief of Staff of the UPDF and Deputy Chief of Defence Forces.
He was in 2021 appointed as the Chief of Defence Forces in the UPDF.
Speaking about the appointment, the vice chairperson of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda board of directors said they have high hopes in Gen Mbadi.
“We look forward to close collaboration, to foster regional trade and have made in Uganda products penetrate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) of over 1.3 billion people, as well as international markets,” she said.
