TORORO: Vice President Jessica Alupo has appealed to every household to select a money-making enterprise within the four key sectors of commercial agriculture, industry, services and information and communication technology (ICT) as a way of eliminating poverty and unemployment across the country.
She said the approach is not new, noting that it dates back to the time of Uganda’s ancestors. Alupo explained that before colonialism, communities had highly productive systems that encouraged every member of society to belong to at least one emyooga (area of specialization).
“Before colonialism, our ancestors developed a highly productive society by encouraging every member of the community to belong to at least one emyooga. For example, there were Abaheesi (blacksmiths), Ababaizi (carpenters), Abanogoozi (clay workers), Abakomagyi (bark-cloth makers) and Abatanagyi (bow and arrow makers),” Alupo said.
The Vice President made the remarks on behalf of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during the commissioning of the Sam Owori Skilling Hub in Tororo Municipality, Tororo District, on December 18, 2025.
The hub was constructed in memory of the late Rotary International President-Elect, Sam Owori, who died in the United States in 2017 while undergoing surgery.
Alupo stressed that since 1986, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has consistently advocated for every adult Ugandan to have omwooga—an income-generating area of economic specialization.
On behalf of the government, she thanked the development partners for their contribution toward establishing the Sam Owori Skilling Hub, describing the project as a transformative initiative aligned with government efforts to drive Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
The partners include the Rotary Club of Innsbruck Alpin in Austria, the Rotary Club of Kampala, Rotary Districts 1920 and 9213, the Rotary Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Uganda, Start Somewhere, the PERI Group, PACODEF, Tororo Youth Initiative for Professional Development, Build Me, and the Zefania and Mary Ochieng Trust, which donated land for the project.
The Vice President commended Rotary Clubs for collaborating with the NRM government to extend social services in areas such as health and education.
Alupo also said vocational training is a key pillar of the NRM’s agenda to transform Uganda’s human resource base. She noted that Presidential Skilling Hubs across the country are training youths in shoe-making, knitting, cloth weaving, furniture making, fruit and food processing, stone cutting for construction, jewelry making, paper production from banana fibres, textile production from bark cloth, leather tanning, herbal medicine processing, and the assembly and manufacture of electronic gadgets and electrical transformers.
“The focus of the skilling hubs is to transform the youth from a liability into an asset. Our four-sector economy—commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT—will absorb and productively engage our active population to produce goods for import substitution and export promotion,” Alupo said.
She revealed that the government is prioritizing industrialization to reduce losses caused by the excessive importation of items that can be competitively produced locally.
“When we import such items, we donate both money and jobs to foreigners, leaving our own children unemployed. More industries in Uganda mean more jobs and increased tax revenue to fund development projects,” she said.
Alupo further noted the need to re-engage some youths in agriculture and manufacturing to curb imports of textiles, leather goods, beverages, electronics, iron and steel products. “Many of these items can be manufactured by our youth,” she added.
She also praised the people of Tororo for promoting unity and peaceful coexistence between the Iteso and Japadhola communities, and commended the Kwar Adhola, Stephen Moses Owor, for working with government to drive socio-economic transformation in Padhola.
The Kwar Adhola thanked government and development partners for supporting the construction and equipping of the skilling hub, saying it will play a critical role in equipping youth with vocational skills and addressing unemployment. He also thanked the Ochieng family for donating the land on which the facility stands.
Tororo Municipality MP Apollo Yeri described the hub as a major development gain that must be protected, noting its immense contribution to skills development.
NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson, Dr. Tanga Odoi, also praised Vice President Alupo for her outstanding contribution to the overall development of Tororo District.
