Acacia Mall officially commissioned, President Museveni calls on Ugandans to emulate Mukwano family whose beginnings are humble * Cautions Ugandas children against squandering family wealth President Yoweri Museveni has challenged Ugandans to tap into the abundant wealth in the country. He was speaking yesterday during the commissioning of The Acacia Mall at Kiseminti, Kamwokya in Kampala. The mall is owned by the Mukwano Family headed by the CEO, Mr. Amirali Karmali. There is a lot of wealth in Uganda. You must have the spectacles to see it, President said as he commended Mzee Amirali Karmali for hard work. He described him as a leading example of people who work hard in the country. He observed that when the NRM came to power in 1986, Mukwano Group of Companies had a total production of US $ 10 million. He was pleased to note that its capacity has today increased to US $ 500 million. President Museveni congratulated the Mukwano family upon construction of the mall saying it is one of their latest projects. He described The Acacia Mall CEO, Mr. Alykhan Karmali (the son of Mzee Amirali Karmali) as a good example of what a bright child can do towards promoting the family projects. He said that the country needed to process maize flour and manufacturing of animal feeds and stop the practice of selling unprocessed maize. He called on the Mukwano Family to help him in attracting more investors with particular emphasis in fruit processing. The President informed the gathering that Uganda had received good investors to process coffee. He added that another group of investors was preparing to manufacture textiles from cotton. I have given very strict orders that for industries, you are going to buy electricity at 4-5 USD cts per unit, President Museveni said as he explained the need to lower business costs to compete favorably. He said transport costs would go much lower the next 5 years following completion of the East African Standard Gauge Railway. Transport costs are being tackled. We are working with Kenya and other East African countries for railway all the way to Kigali and Juba. You are in the right place at the right time as far as manufacturing is concerned, President told investors. President Museveni said that some of the families in the country have been fragmenting land through bad inheritance practices. He cautioned the people against the practice. He said Wananchi have the capacity to produce fruits profitably with the available small acreage. The Minister of the Presidency Frank Tumwebaze congratulated the Mukwano Group for the investment on behalf of the Kampala City management. The Managing Director of The Acacia Mall Alykhan Karmali saluted President Museveni for enabling them to invest in the country. He revealed that the venture was a single investment by a Ugandan. He said that he was proud to be a Ugandan. He revealed that the project has succeeded through the support of Government. He informed the guests that Mukwano Group exports tea to North African countries and the Gulf region. He added that they export sunflower oil to Europe. He revealed that the Group’s sunflower mill in Lira supports over 70,000 farmers and that they plan to build hotels in Uganda and the East African region. The Managing Director of Knight Frank Uganda Ltd, The managing Agents of the Mall, Mrs. Judy Rugasira thanked the President for his leadership & stewardship that has enabled real estate to thrive.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 22:56:26 +0000
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