Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT | The Kingdom of Tooro has signed a Memorandum of Understanding-MoU with Uganda Industrial Research Institute- UIRI to establish an industrial research institute and specialized industrial park in Tooro. The park, valued at USD 100 million (366 billion Shillings), will be named the King Oyo Science, Technology, Innovation and Industrialization park.

The Memorandum was signed on Wednesday afternoon by the Omukama of Tooro Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV and Professor Charles Kwesiga, the Executive Director of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, at the Namanve Manufacturing and Machining centre.

Omukama Oyo said he chose to celebrate this Year’s international youth day by signing the MoU for the benefit the people of Tooro.  He is optimistic that the park will offer hands-on training, value addition and product development, technology development, business incubation, quality control and research for the benefit of youth groups in the Tooro Kingdom and the rest of the country. 

Oyo also noted that as part of the MOU, Youth from the Tooro Kingdom will be enrolled in phases at the New Namanve Manufacturing and Machining centre to be trained in different skills. The first group of 21 trainees was received on the same day that the MOU was signed.

The King urged the government to discover and reenergize the potential that the youth wield as a means of reviving the economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the pandemic has greatly impacted the education and employment of the youth, who form the biggest size of the population. 

He said the youth can play a pivotal role in rebuilding the economy if the government rethinks and redesigns the education and skilling system from creating job seekers to job creators and innovators. 

The Tooro Kingdom Youth Minister Edward Kasaija told Uganda Radio Network, that as part of the MoU the King has offered Land to the institute, to facilitate the establishment of the park. He also undertook to mobilize the youth to enrol for the programs offered by UIRI.

The UIRI- Executive Director Prof. Kwesiga expressed gratitude towards the King’s gesture of looking forward to eliminating unemployment among his Kingdome’s youthful population and, described him as another visionary leader in the country. 

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