A total of 36 newly recruited farm managers and finance officers are undergoing intensive training at Kaweweta Military Academy ahead of their deployment to oversee agricultural enterprises under the Presidential Industrial Hubs Programme.
The week-long training, taking place at the Oliver Reginald Tambo Leadership School and Pan African Centre of Excellence in Kaweweta, is aimed at equipping the officers with ideological orientation, leadership, financial management and governance skills needed to effectively manage public investments.
The officers, who will be deployed across the country, are expected to supervise agricultural activities at various Presidential Industrial Hubs and provide technical oversight to more than 170 Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) established to support graduates of the government's skilling programme.
The training, which began on Monday, June 22, and will conclude on Friday, June 26, covers leadership, patriotism, political economy, mindset transformation, universal principles of development and basic firearms handling, among other areas.
Senior instructors led by the Deputy Commandant of the school, Lt Col AK Alege, are facilitating sessions designed to develop a cadre of visionary and transformational leaders capable of safeguarding public investments while ensuring maximum productivity at the industrial hubs.
While officially opening the training, the Director of Presidential Projects and Industrial Hubs at State House, Eng. Raymond Kamugisha, urged the officers to draw lessons from Uganda's history to guide their leadership and decision-making in public service.
"History offers important lessons for national development. As leaders entrusted with public resources, you must understand where this country has come from and ensure that every decision you make contributes towards the transformation of our people," Kamugisha said.
He said State House is now shifting its focus towards making the country's 19 Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs financially sustainable through value addition and commercial production.
Kamugisha revealed that a paper processing plant has already been established at the Mbarara Industrial Hub, while a grain milling facility at the Masindi hub is currently undergoing testing. Similar value-addition projects are expected to be rolled out across the remaining hubs.
"Our objective is to ensure that these hubs become centres of production and wealth creation. Skills alone are not enough; value addition is critical if we are to realize maximum benefits from these investments," he said.
Beyond managing agricultural enterprises, the newly recruited officers will also oversee demonstration farms established at the hubs and provide technical support to SACCOs formed by programme beneficiaries.
According to State House, each of the SACCOs has received Shs50 million in seed capital to enable graduates of the Presidential Industrial Hubs programme to establish income-generating enterprises and expand access to affordable financing.
The Presidential Industrial Hubs initiative was established to equip young Ugandans with practical vocational skills in trades such as construction, agriculture, tailoring, welding, carpentry, electrical installation and mechanics.
The programme is part of the government's broader strategy to tackle youth unemployment, promote industrialisation and increase household incomes through skills development and enterprise creation.
