Uganda stakeholders urge focus on infrastructure, health, and coffee value-addition

As President Yoweri Museveni prepares to deliver the State of the Nation Address, stakeholders in Uganda's Bugisu sub-region are calling for increased government focus on critical development areas. Their priorities include enhancing infrastructure, improving healthcare services, and boosting agro-industrialization, particularly for the region's renowned Arabica coffee.

Development advocate Clent Gimei highlighted the need for value addition in the coffee sector. He argued that establishing coffee processing plants within Bugisu would significantly increase farmer earnings, create local employment, and strengthen household incomes. Currently, much of the region's coffee is exported in raw form, limiting its economic potential.

Stakeholders also expressed frustration over the prolonged delays in implementing key road infrastructure projects, such as the Nkokonjeru-Wanale tourism road and the Bududa Circular Road. These projects have been repeatedly included in national budgets but remain incomplete, hindering regional connectivity and development.

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Here we have our Arabica coffee, but up to now we are still struggling to add value. If the government of Uganda established a coffee processing plant in Bugisu, it would greatly benefit farmers.

Furthermore, there are urgent calls for the completion of the surgical complex at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, a project stalled for nearly a decade, which impacts access to specialized healthcare in eastern Uganda. Concerns were also raised about the lack of basic health facilities in Namisindwa District and alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Parish Development Model, with accusations of fund diversion and misuse by civil servants.

Governance activist Robert Kisesi emphasized the need to combat corruption at the local government level, arguing that it undermines service delivery more directly than corruption at higher echelons. The stakeholders' demands collectively aim to address systemic issues hindering Bugisu's development and ensure that the State of the Nation Address translates into tangible progress.

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While the President has often spoken about corruption at higher levels, the most corrupt officials are actually in local government.