The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Hon. Sanjay Tanna has called on the over 1,000 South Africa returnees to take advantage of the government t wealth creation programmes and invest in small-scale value addition for income generation.
Speaking to these returnees at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi, Minister Tanna encouraged them, saying they can always start over because Uganda is a land of many opportunities.
He gave them examples of people who were displaced but managed to start over. Indians who were expelled from Uganda in the 1970s and relocated to the UK and Canada started from zero or negative, and today, they are some of the richest people in those countries. The white farmers expelled from Zimbabwe, the news in the Second World War, and many more.
“You are not the first ones to experience this. Many have been oppressed and displaced from the places they called home, but managed to start over and succeeded. The good thing is that the government of Uganda is very much willing to support you to start over, “said Tanna
He urged those with skills and experience gained from South Africa to use that knowledge to start-up small scale businesses like honey processing, cocoa processing, shea butter processing, avocado oil processing, tailoring, embroidery, leather production, production of cassava starch among others saying, his ministry would support them through advisory services, capacity building and training, access to market and linkages to sources of capital.
He noted that Uganda has made trendous development strides with a GDP of $65 billion and plans to expand the economy further to $500 billion by 2040.
“As you are being integrated in society, I encourage you to interest yourselves in the different government programmes like PDM, Emyooga, and others which provide opportunities for financing, enterprise development and improved livelihoods,” said Tanna
He said his ministry will support them in organizing themselves into cooperatives, saying collective action would make it easier for them to access government support, financing, and markets.
