Lira factory looking for Shs5 billion government assistance to stay afloat

The factory, which was started six years ago in Bar Apwo, Lira City West Division, had just started production when Covid-19 hit their production line because China was their supplier for raw materials via Mombasa.

The founder of the factory, Francis Okoch, a 44-year-old mechanical engineer from Olilim sub-county Otuke District, told Daily Monitor that once capacity is boosted, they will be able to tap into the markets of DR Congo, South Sudan, and parts of Kenya.

The factory is the only steel plant in Northern Uganda.

“Shs5 billion could be enough for our working capital. We also need to expand because as we buy materials and make production, we also need to build more structures. Sometimes if we get some little money, we order small raw materials that can last for a few days because of lack of working capital,” Okoch said during the interview.

According to Okoch, production is not sustainable at the current rate and he appealed to President Museveni and development partners to come to the rescue.

“So, we produce for some days and when the materials are finished, we stop production. We struggle to sell the products, and after selling them, we make orders for raw materials which sometimes take a long time to be delivered to us. This is affecting our production,” he said.

Before starting serious production during the Covid-19 onset, the factory was producing toilet paper and was stretching its wings to undertake the production of multipurpose steel items like window frames, door frames, gutters, and corrugated metal.

“At least we had some money which was enough for purchasing raw materials but when Covid-19 came, everything went down because movement was restricted and prices of raw materials shot up. To make it worse, the price of shipping containers from China to Mombasa increased by over 500 percent during the Covid-19 lockdown. This affected us a lot because we didn’t have enough capital but after the Covid-19 lockdown, we are now struggling to run this factory.”

Okoch has called out to President Museveni to render assistance for the factory to survive. Museveni has previously noted that the ruling party's policy guidelines have weaned Ugandans off importing luxury goods and focused them on essential goods.

He also said that industrialisation in the country is proof of the strategic plans and policies of the ruling party.

At the moment, Chinese manufacturers rely on Okoch to install all their machines in African countries.