President Museveni has commissioned the Ankole Zonal Presidential Industrial Hub in Muko Village, Mbarara District, as part of a nationwide initiative to equip Ugandan youth with vocational skills for wealth creation and sustainable development.
The hub is one of 19 across the country, targeting the training of over 12,000 youths annually. In his address, Museveni hailed the initiative as a transformative step in economic empowerment and commended the beneficiaries for their dedication to skill acquisition. Currently on a performance assessment tour on wealth creation and the Parish Development Model (PDM) in the Ankole subregion, he emphasized the need to heed guidance in order to break the cycle of poverty.
Reflecting on the introduction of free education in government schools in 1996, he pointed out that while the policy removed financial barriers, its full impact has been hindered by high dropout rates, particularly in regions like Karamoja, where 87% of learners leave school after Primary Seven. Museveni reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring every sub-county has a primary school and every parish a secondary school, pledging further investment in teachers’ houses, laboratories, and more schools to lower the cost of education
. Responding to requests from local leaders, he promised to expand student intake at the industrial hub by constructing additional dormitories rather than increasing the number of hubs.
He also stressed the importance of integrating hub graduates into the money economy through district-level SACCOs. Additionally, Museveni unveiled plans to establish a factory producing paper from banana fibers, providing an eco-friendly alternative to polythene bags and further advancing Uganda’s industrialization efforts.
