Sao Tome President Prince. Carlos Vila Nova Praises Museveni for initiating the Art of Science & Technology that gave birth of Kiira Motos vehicle plant

By Evans Najuna

NINJA – During his visit on Saturday evening at Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja, H.E Vila Nova revealed that he was delighted to pay a call to the vehicle plant, praising it as an impressive project. “When we see the implementation of such a project we go back and see where to start from,” he said.

He thanked Museveni’s initiative to the unwavering commitment in steering Uganda’s development. “The leadership of my own brother H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is very important in all of this. I want to thank him in the name of my mission and my people for everything he is doing for Uganda and Africa. I also want to thank all of you for what you are doing in the implementation of this project,” President Vila Nova added.

President Vila Nova whom came to Uganda for his two-day working visit, while at Kiira Motos was hosted by, Kiira Motors Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Paul Isaac Musasizi and he warmly welcomed President Vila Nova to the vehicle plant and informed him that the facility was established to champion the development of Uganda’s domestic automotive value chain for job and wealth creation through technology transfer, supply chain localization and contract manufacturing.

“This company was born out of the Presidential Initiative for Science, Technology and Innovation at Makerere University which is one of the leading institutions of higher Education in Africa” he said. Adding that, currently at the facility they are setting up a vehicle plant on over 100 acres of land and we are working with the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) which is under the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and they are the ones doing the construction that is being supervised by a team of engineers, architects, surveyors and other technical people from Makerere University.

Mr. Musasizi explained to President Vila Nova that, the Kiira Motors Corporation is really the brain child of His Excellency the President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and it’s dear to him because he understands that our country to advance in industrialization, one of the aspects we need to work on is making our own vehicles, particularly because when you make a vehicle you open up industrialization in the iron and steel, silk, carpentry, electricals and electronics, textiles, leather, and so many different aspects that come together to make the over 70,000 parts of a vehicle.

The Jinja Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr. Richard Gulume, who was in presence noted that his office is working together with Kiira Motors to ensure the success of the project. “Having you here is a very big blessing Your Excellency, and we were told that you are going back today but we are requesting to stay for some more days because Jinja has other tourist attractions which you will really enjoy seeing,” Gulume said.

Whereas, the General Manager – NEC Construction Works & Engineering Ltd, Eng. Brian Buhanda, on note said that , Kiira Motors is fully owned by the government and they conduct business through different subsidiaries of which one of them is NEC Construction works and Engineering that is basically involved in these kinds of infrastructure development. He added that, through the collaboration as government bodies, is how they find themselves into this particular development. “All the facilities that you are visiting today are put up by our government local companies,” said Eng. Buhanda

Meanwhile, the visit by Sao Tome President at Kiira Motovehicle plant was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. Jeje Odongo and the Director General of External Security Organization (ESO), Ambassador Joseph Ocwet. Relatedly, after the visit, Sao Tome President HE. Carlos Vila Nova later paid a courtesy visit to Fish factory also in Jinja.

It can be recalled that, Kiira Vehicle Plant site was handed over to NEC on 18th January, 2019, which commenced work on 11th February, 2019 after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Kiira Motors Corporation and NEC for the construction of Kiira Vehicle Plant Start-Up Facilities (Phase I) at the Jinja Industrial and Business Park based on the Force Account Mechanism provided for under Section 95(A) of the PPDA Act, 2003 (as amended). This was subsequent to clearance of the MOU by the Solicitor General