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Uganda INDUSTRY
When the NRM seized power in 1986, Uganda's industrial
production was negligible. Manufacturing industries, based
primarily on processing agricultural products unavailable
in
Uganda, operated at approximately one-third of their 1972
level.
The mining industry had almost come to a standstill. The
rudiments of industrial production existed in the form of
power
stations, factories, mines, and hotels, but these
facilities
needed repairs and improved maintenance, and government
budgets
generally assigned these needs lower priority than
security and
commercial agricultural development. The city of Jinja,
the
nation's former industrial hub, was marked by signs of
poverty
and neglect. The dilapidated road system in and around
Jinja
provided one of the most serious obstacles to industrial
growth.
Industrial growth was a high priority in the late
1980s,
however. The government's initial goal was to decrease
Uganda's
dependence on imported manufactured goods by
rehabilitating
existing enterprises. These efforts met with some success,
and in
1988 and 1989, industrial output grew by more than 25
percent,
with much of this increase in the manufacturing sector.
Industry's most serious problems, including capital
shortages,
were the need for skilled workers and people with
management
experience. Engineers and repair people ,in particular,
were in
demand, and government planners sought ways to gear
vocational
training toward these needs.
Data as of December 1990
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