Tororo, Uganda: Vice President Jessica Alupo has urged households across Uganda to deliberately engage in income-generating activities within the four key economic sectors of commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT as a pathway to eliminating poverty and unemployment.
Alupo made the call on behalf of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni while commissioning the Sam Owori Skilling Hub in Tororo Municipality on December 18, 2025, describing economic specialisation as a long-standing African tradition rather than a new policy idea.
“Before colonialism, our ancestors built a highly productive society by ensuring every individual belonged to an emyooga—an area of specialisation. We had Abaheesi (blacksmiths), Ababaizi (carpenters), Abanogoozi (clay workers), Abakomagyi (bark-cloth makers) and Abatanagyi (bow and arrow makers),” Alupo said.
The skilling hub was constructed in memory of the late Rotary International President-elect Sam Owori, who passed away in 2017 while undergoing surgery in the United States.
Alupo reiterated that since 1986, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has consistently advocated for every adult Ugandan to have omwooga—a productive economic activity that earns income.
On behalf of government, the Vice President thanked development partners for supporting the project, describing the skilling hub as a transformative initiative aligned with Uganda’s socio-economic transformation agenda.
The partners include Rotary Club of Innsbruck Alpin (Austria), Rotary Club of Kampala, Rotary Districts 1920 and 9213, the Rotary Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Uganda, Start Somewhere, PERI Group, PACODEF, Tororo Youth Initiative for Professional Development, Build Me, and the Zefania and Mary Ochieng Trust, which donated land for the facility.
Alupo commended Rotary Clubs for working with the NRM government to extend essential services in health, education and skills development to communities.
She said vocational training remains a cornerstone of the NRM agenda to transform Uganda’s human resource base, noting that Presidential Skilling Hubs are training youth in shoe-making, textile production, furniture making, food processing, stone cutting, jewellery making, electronics assembly, bark-cloth textiles, leather tanning and herbal medicine processing.
“The focus of the skilling hubs is to turn the youth from a liability into an asset. Our four-sector economy—commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT—can absorb our entire active population to support import substitution and exports,” Alupo said.
The Vice President added that government is prioritising industrialisation to reduce losses caused by excessive imports of goods that can be competitively produced locally.
“When we import what we can manufacture here, we export jobs and money while leaving our children unemployed. More industries mean more jobs and more taxes for development,” she said.
Alupo further called for renewed youth participation in agriculture and manufacturing to reduce imports of textiles, leather products, electronics, iron and steel, alcohol and beverages.
She praised the people of Tororo for promoting unity and peaceful co-existence between the Iteso and Japadhola communities and commended the Kwar Adhola, Stephen Moses Owor, for working closely with government to advance socio-economic transformation in Padhola.
The Kwar Adhola thanked government and development partners for supporting the construction and equipping of the skilling hub, noting that it will play a critical role in vocational training and youth employment. He also appreciated the Ochieng family for donating land for the project.
Tororo Municipality MP Apollo Yeri said the skilling hub is a major development gain that must be protected, citing its long-term impact on skills development.
NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson Dr Tanga Odoi praised Vice President Alupo for her continued contribution to the development of Tororo District.
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