The first ever Uganda Convention UK took place on 27th August 2011, at the prestigious Troxy in East London. The theme of the convention was ‘Harnessing the Potential of the Ugandan Diaspora.’ The event was extremely well attended and the number of people who came well exceeded the organisers’ expectations.

Guests of honour included various ministers from Uganda, several High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Europe, delegates and representatives of many prominent Ugandan businesses and enterprises.

The turn-up of Ugandans from all over Europe was quite overwhelming. The exhibition hall was teeming with visitors throughout the day. Among the exhibitors were representative of several Ugandan financial institutions, business leaders, government officials, professionals from Europe and Uganda, organisations in the voluntary sector, several UK universities and many Ugandan Diaspora-based businesses. These included:

1. Western Union Money Transfer/MTN
2. Brussels Airlines
3. Equity Bank – Uganda
4. Bank of Africa
5. SAMONA Products Ltd
6. JOMAYI Property Consultants
7. Tirupati  Development  - Uganda
8. Mihasesu International
9. Ka Tutandike Trust
10. University of Central Lancashire
11. Coventry University
12. Heliot Watt University
13. SACOMA
14. Akwaabauk.com
15. Liberty fellowship
16. Green Top Villas
17. Action Wealth
18. New Vision – Uganda’s leading newspaper
19. LA Face
20. The Promota Media Group
21. The Nnabagereka Foundation

The opening ceremony was led by the Convention chairman, Willy Mutenza, who welcomed the following guests:

• Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga, The Speaker of Parliament
• Hon Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
• Hon Irene Muloni, Minister of Energy and Minerals
• Hon Okello Oryem, Minister State for Internal and international Affairs
• Hon Sam Engola, State Minister for Housing
• Hon Christine Amongin Aporu,  Minister of State for Teso Affairs
• Lord Sheikh
• HE Joan Rwabyomere, Uganda High Commissioner to the UK
• Ugandan Ambassadors from mainland Europe
• Diaspora Community leaders

Mr Mutenza stressed that the right time is now for Diasporas to “come together as nationalist Ugandans, and embrace the diversity of culture, endowment of natural resources and utilize the good investment environment enjoyed by foreign investors”. He also reassured attendants that the event was strictly non-political and had no facilitation from the government as reported but that the way forward would inevitably involve the full support and the cooperation of various sectors of the government.  He also urged people to re-evaluate their situation or current success in life and to aim for even more opportunities, like the ones being show-cased on the day.

The Chairman’s speech was followed by presentations from the following guests:

Her Excellency Joan Rwabyomere, the Ugandan High Commissioner to the UK.

She made her welcome remarks and expressed her pleasure of being able to look at the convention as the culmination of several other smaller forums that had taken place in the past.

Later in the day, Her Excellency stated that the event had been an amazing success, the choice of topics was very good and she praised each speaker from the parliament and the private sector for their excellent contribution.
 
She said that the convention was a kick start and that people needed to intensify and consolidate the outcomes of the day and continue with very strong networks, following up on the discussions of the day.
 
She added that as High Commissioner, she was herself very encouraged by the responses which were very motivating.  “With the involvement of the youth and the interest and commitment of the private sector”, Her Excellency concluded, “it can really only get better and we can successfully transform and organize our country”. 
 
Hon Okello Oryem, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

He started outright by alleviating any fears that the he and his colleague Ministers were attending the convention for politics. “We are here for a win-win situation. There is nothing on the agenda to achieve any political goals at all”. He was encouraged to see Ugandans uniting for the common purpose of contributing to the development of their nation and regions.

Hon. Okello urged Ugandans to harness the enormous potentials of the oil discovery in the country and went on to enumerate various programs that were being developed between Uganda and the Diaspora. He named the successful approval and full implementation of dual citizenship for Ugandans, whom he was encouraging to apply. He also mentioned a new project between the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the UNDP that is engaging dialogue between government and the Diaspora to develop strong exchange of information, especially on investment opportunities, such as in the financial markets and estate business. The establishment of a Diaspora bond issued by the government of Uganda will facilitate Diaspora investment in Uganda once the consultancy arrangements are finalized. The Bank of Uganda will welcome the views of the Diaspora on this matter.

He said that investment profiles will be developed in target sectors for medium and small enterprise. The government has also embarked on a program for the development of roads, railway, education, health service and energy. Consultancy is particularly sought from the Diaspora in the infrastructure sector. He further encouraged attendants to make comments on the service delivery of any initiative and urged them to make proposals to the government on issues which they deem are necessary and applicable to Ugandans in the Diaspora.

He concluded by saying that the return on investment in Uganda is positive, inviting the Diaspora to come on board and invest back home now. And since internet banking facilities in Uganda do not require the physical presence of investors, it is very easy to invest in stocks, bonds and shares. 
 
Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga, The Speaker of Parliament.

She started her speech with the issue of dual citizenship, which she said used to be a big problem to members of the Diaspora, and assured attendants that they could now apply for Ugandan citizenship again, and that it only entailed to take the oath of allegiance. This dual citizenship also entitles spouses to apply.

She then enumerated a few prominent Ugandans who all returned from the Diaspora to become a success back home, one of these being none other than Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, also present on the day, who was a consultant with the World Bank. She also mentioned two members of the Diaspora who went back home to run in the last elections and were elected Member of Parliament. She reassured the Diaspora that they did not lose out by remaining abroad and invited them warmly to come back home. Her ultimate example was Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who, after many years in the World Bank, became President of Liberia.

Next, she spoke about the challenges that Uganda recently faced, such as high rate of inflation, high food and commodity prices, which were however not unique to Uganda.

She then whetted the audience’s appetite by mentioning the magic word of ‘money spinners’. She said that Uganda is the best education destination in the Great Lakes region. Uganda has students from Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, starting from primary level, and would be an ideal location to set up primary and secondary schools and even universities.  “Uganda is the destination for Education”, she stressed.

The next investment sector she mentioned was tourism. She stated that every major airline now flies to Uganda including Brussels Airlines which is a Premier sponsor of this Convention, in addition to the hundreds of buses that move every day between the capitals in the Great Lake regions. “This high volume of movement and trading”, she said, “was an area worth looking at for investment”.
 
She explained that there were plans to build a dual carriage way between Entebbe and Kampala to speed up the connection between the airport and the capital. Another plan being looked at is the construction of another bridge on the river Nile to ease the congestion.  

She went on to talk about agriculture and opportunities available in agro-processing, and that the energy provision would be addressed so that this area of investment would not be impeded.

Real estate was mentioned next as another important growing investment area. She said that housing is still in shortage in Kampala for the middle class and encouraged people to invest their money in that sector.

She then addressed the area of information and communication technology. She said that many Ugandan may well have 3 phone lines each and that since the population was steadily growing, the demands in ICT would also increase, ICT being the fastest growing area in the Ugandan economy. 

The East African Federation was next on the agenda, which she said will create bigger markets for food products and manufactured goods, stressing that Uganda would be at the centre of all these opportunities. She invited the Diaspora to ‘be there’ for the big markets coming up. She explained that the East African community was still discussing and working towards a common market and eventually also a common currency. She especially addressed skilled diasporans who should consider investing the skills they acquired whilst living abroad into the improvement of Uganda. 

She concluded by expressing her happiness at attending the event, and that she would be very happy to welcome members of the Diaspora back home, “Let’s come and work together. Despite your long absence, you are still part of us and we are part of you. So let’s join hands and make the life better for our children and grandchildren”.
 
Hon Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. 

She said that the Convention was very timely as developments at home had created many opportunities for members of the Diaspora. Uganda and Africa currently present some of the highest returns on capital in the world, with some projects having a ROI of up to 30%. This figure, she said, contrasted very favourably with the recession that the Diaspora had had to face in the UK and other parts of the world.

She said that the Ugandan Diaspora had special skills and networks, that they were very resilient people who migrated just with skills but still made it, for which she congratulated them, amid loud applause! She explained it was these very skills, attributes and the “I can do it. I am not afraid of anything. I can make it” attitude that she wished to be brought back home. This attitude should position well anyone wishing to exploit the opportunities in Uganda, to bring transformation back home and to themselves.

She assured the audience that her Ministry is committed to provide all the necessary help for people to settle back in Uganda or to invest in the country, aiming to provide the necessary infrastructure and policy environment. She said that the reforms had created a vibrant financial sector to provide credits and advice on financial strategies, and also strong telecommunication and transport sectors, which had lowered the costs of doing business in Uganda. She mentioned as an example how MTN and Western Union had joined forces to lower the costs of sending money back home by mobile phone.
 
Next, she highlighted the opportunities available in Uganda:

1. Oil sector: Construction of oil refinery, storage facilities and pipelines, distribution of natural gas products, logistics and transportation, marketing of oil products, skills training and capacity building in oil and gas.

2. Tourism: Provision of accommodation facilities in major tourist parks, beach resorts around the water bodies, especially around Victoria Lake, Hospitality training facilities, marketing efforts worldwide to help promote Uganda globally.

3. Manufacture – Agriculture – Health - Finance: Textile, ceramics, dairy, beef, medical and veterinary drugs, plastics and packaging, fertilisers, seeds implements and paper product; agriculture processing (Uganda’s most promising and key strength);  commercial fish farming, establishment of commercial seed multiplication centres, poultry, animal and crop farming, value addition through the processing of fruits and vegetables and other agricultural products.

4. Construction of silos would address the lack of storage, which is now forcing farmers to sell their products straight after harvest, at whatever price they can get, to avoid it perishing. 

5. Leather processing, planting of trees, mining and ITC, establishment of business processing and outsourcing centres, digital paid television, management and transmission of data storage facilities.

6. Housing sector, energy, financial sector, mortgage facilities, merchant banking, Islamic banking products, leasing finance for example for farm machinery, education, infrastructure, highways maintenance and construction, water transport ferries (more ferries needed to the one currently available),   health infrastructure, quality health care at affordable prices and credible health care insurance. 

She mentioned that all these investment areas could be entered into on a PPP principle (Public Private Partnership).

 Hon Minister’s answers to some commonly asked questions:  

What are the measures put in place to stabilise Uganda shilling against the dollar?

She enumerated the 3 major causes for the fluctuating rates. The first one is global, where the financial crisis had now reached Uganda; the events in the Middle East and North Africa which affected oil products, and a global demand for the dollar.

The regional aspect of the problem included a drought and climate change in East Africa that had had an effect, as well as the infrastructure bottleneck that is hitting home. And locally, the farmers received very high demand for their food as a result of the crisis in the horn of Africa.

There are 4 main sources of the dollar: export; foreign direct investment from companies and governments abroad, who through their own problems invest less; remittances on the decrease and lastly an increased demand for imports such as  electronics (TVs, cameras, mobile phones) so that imports heavily outweighs exports, factors which all cause loss of dollar reserves.

The role of the Bank of Uganda is to smooth the curve, to sort out the volatility, so that the movement is not so erratic; its role is not to pump dollar into the economy. The rate is determined by the market. The government cannot control the exchange rate, but can only promote and diversify export, so that the export earnings close the gap with the import demand. This is the area where Hon Minister appealed to the Diaspora for assistance, “We must transform our nation from a consuming one with a much higher rate of import to a producing one with a higher rate of export”. Value added must be maximized through agricultural productivity, increased agro-processing, and improved skills training and utilization.

Are there any measures put in place by the government to discourage landlords from making tenants pay in dollars rather than our local currency?

There is no such law in the open economy of Uganda. It would cause unnecessary interference in the business environment. Tenants could be asked if they want the government to control the price at which they sell their products in those landlords’ premises. In any case, if landlords were made to charge in shillings, they would be writing contracts for a month or three months rate. In some cases, landlords charge in dollars because they took out loans in dollars and the tenants charge for their product or services in shillings but they change their rates as befits their cash flows.

Why are import duties and clearing taxes high?

She explained that import duties in Uganda are determined amongst other factors, at the East Africa Community level.  For example, Uganda suffered recently a shortage of sugar and the price shot up by more than 100%. The Ministry of Finance suggested to Cabinet, which approved, to temporarily lift the duty on imported sugar, so that it could fill up the gap and make the price comparable to local sugar. “But we had, as a government, to ask the East African Community to clear this suggestion. This is to show that many of the taxes and duties are fixed by the EAC, in much the same way that what is happening in the UK is fixed at Brussels”. 
 
She then shared her views on the role of the Diaspora in the Ugandan economy. In 2010, Diaspora remittances were estimated at $800 million, playing a crucial role in the economy. This role can be further enhanced by continuing working through organizations such as the Ugandan UK convention, UNAA in North America and some other community organisations. She suggested forming investment clubs, set up jobs database to help employers in Uganda to identify qualified and experience staff in the Diaspora. Uganda aims to strengthen and modernize the capital markets to make it easier for non-residents to invest in capital markets back home.
 
She talked about how Uganda plans to utilize the proceeds generated by the petroleum development. The Ministry of Finance is committed to transparency in the utilization of oil proceeds. The priority will be to invest in physical and human capital so that when the oil runs out, the nation’s children and grandchildren will have something to remember it by. It will not be used for consumption but only for capital development, such as the new hydropower dam in Karuma and major infrastructure rehabilitation works. A comprehensive policy paper is being worked on with technical input from partners such as Norway, the IMF and the World Bank. This paper will be publically discussed, and presented to parliament for approval.
 
She finished by talking about the youth. 70% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 25. Her ministry, she said is addressing this by putting  more emphasis on vocational training, on business and technical skills enhancement rather than going for traditional white collar jobs. The ministry is looking to make agriculture more effective and productive and thereby become more attractive as an occupation for young people, instead of driving boda bodas. Agro-processing is encouraged as a job creation tool. This has been started in a small way with some of the commercial banks in Uganda, coming in to assist, and the Diaspora is very welcome to share ideas and suggestion on this matter.
 
She appealed to the Diaspora to get in touch through their local MPs at home in Uganda, explaining that the dual citizenship would have been approved much sooner if it had passed through a local MP rather than be presented as a matter from abroad. She urged diasporans to come to Parliament through their local MPs
 
She then talked about the people present being privileged to have been born and brought up in Uganda and now working in the West , saying that their children born in the West do not have the same advantage . This is why the government made sure that the dual citizenship was approved. As the older generation retires and return to Uganda, the children will be left as the workers. What will their views on Uganda be? How is the current Diaspora positioning them to view Uganda?   “As the mother country” Hon Minister asked, “or as ‘somewhere over there’ that Mum and Dad keep on talking about”?
 
She concluded by saying that the right time to go back home is to “listen inside you at the still small voice that will tell you when it is time.”
 
Hon Irene Muloni, Minister of Energy and Minerals.

She started by saying how excited Uganda and the rest of the world was at the discovery of oil in the country , which is estimated at around 200 billion barrels, this figure representing only about 40% of the area explored. She said that Uganda was striving to ensure that this oil becomes a blessing to the country in the true sense, and will be so only if managed in the most transparent and accountable manner.
 
Uganda is looking forward to maximizing the proceeds from oil so that infrastructure can be built to help develop Uganda’s economy and move the country to the next level. In the medium term, the Energy and Mineral sector is looking at increasing the electricity generation capacity and the development of the electricity transmission and distribution network.  She did not shy away from admitting that Uganda is still experiencing load shedding but assured the audience that the government was looking at exploiting the hydro potential along the Nile to increase the capacity that is paramount to the development of the economy.
 
It is planned to increase access to modern energy services through rural electrification and renewable energies, as well as to promote and monitor petroleum exploration and development in order to achieve local production, promote mineral investment through the provision of scientific data and capacity building.
 
She went on to enumerate the current energy development projects and opportunities back home. The first machine of 50 megawatts at the Bujagali dam is expected to come on line soon. The entire Bujagali dam will be commission next year in April, and is expected to produce 250 megawatts. Karuma hydro power project is expected to produce 600MW, Simba to produce around 100 MW and Ayago Power Station about 600MW, which are all at various stages of development. Each stage is offering opportunities to invest in. Transmission network has further opportunities to offer. The Diaspora can also contribute by entering into PPP, through equity, consultancy, construction work and equipment supply.
 
She stated that 5 out of the 11 exploration areas in the Albertine Graben have been licensed to international oil companies, and asked where the Ugandans were?  She explained that many opportunities were presenting themselves as the first smaller refinery would be operative within 3 years, with an expected production increase within 5 years. New flight charters would be needed, as well as insurance services, civil construction for access road, environmental consultancy, provision of ICT services, security services, catering and camping services.
 
Further opportunities would be available in joint ventures, general works and construction, logistical services, geophysical surveys, refining and pipelines development, future chemical industries and capital for the emerging infrastructure, such as refining and transportation of petroleum commodities and products,
 
She concluded by saying that investment in the oil industry was priority number one for the Ugandan government and was ensuring any interested party that the whole industry was being managed in the most transparent and accountable manner, and that investors would get a sound return on their investment.
 
Mr Elly Karuhanga, President of Tullow Oil.

He was the keynote speaker at the Youth forum and also presented a paper on the role of Tullow Oil in Uganda. He said that Uganda is at the dawn of a new era and that this generation is witnessing history in the making. He enumerated many successful people who had started to make their mark at a young age, such as Nelson Mandela, Museveni, Bill Gates from Microsoft, Steve Jobs from Apple, and that therefore the young people in the audience would also find an opportunity in Uganda to make a difference.
 
He said that the economy of Uganda was completely transformed from the one the Diaspora left behind. Tullow Oil alone, he said, is looking at putting up about $4 billion dollars in the economy. If another 5 companies, such as Total, Neptune and others would invest a similar amount (another $10 billion) into the oil and gas sector in Uganda, it would make it the highest investment in East, West, Central and Southern Africa in a long time. Who, he asked, was going to protect and attend to this money? “Ugandans”, he answered, “it will be a transformational statement in the whole region”. Once again he asked the audience, “Where are you”? It is an opportunity of a lifetime for Uganda to set a new standard in Africa. Everyone has seen all the mistakes made by other oil producing African countries, but Mr Karuhanga said that Uganda would not make those same mistakes.  His challenge to the audience was, “How do you go home? Not by taking a leap of blind leap of faith”, he said, “but by making a plan”. Despite the comfortable lifestyle some may have in the UK, he suggested that life could be even better by going back home and grasping the opportunities that the oil and gas sector have to offer now.
 
 Rino Solberg, CEO of Better Globe Group.

He introduced himself by saying that he was actually half Ugandan, then went on to explain that this was so because his wife was 100% born Ugandan and that simple mathematic made him therefore half Ugandan!
 
He said that the first time he went to Kampala 25 years ago, the state of the buildings made him think that he should open up a paint factory. The first thing he did with his wife, however was to found the NGO Child Africa, because, he explained, his wife has a passion for children and they saw how the young ones needed help and education. Today, Child Africa has built 2 schools and helps many children. Though Child Africa is not a business Mr Solberg said, it was still a good investment for the future.
 
To counteract all the negative comments that he was hearing when mentioning Uganda to people (because of Idi Amin) Mr Solberg produced 5000 CDs on Uganda (pre internet era), with the participation of the Ministry of Tourism, investing $250,000 of his own money into the project. He recouped around $150,000 through advertising sold in Uganda. These CDs got sent to 70 countries around the world to promote Uganda. 500 copies were sent to President Museveni who gave them out himself.
 
Mr Solberg also organized up to 10,000 affordable computers to be bought from Norway to help Uganda enter the computer age.
 
In 1994, President Museveni visited Norway and Mr Solberg took the opportunity to present him to his nation Norway. Museveni invited him thereafter to come to Uganda to help companies get certified to ISO 9000 standards, which is one of Mr Solberg expert area. 10 years later, he had helped over 100 companies to be certified, and was the one who virtually introduced IS0 9000 to Uganda.
 
He also started the Success magazine covering areas of personal development, which ran for about 5 years, then moved on to found a magazine called Miti magazine (Miti meaning tree in Swahili), which all about trees and tree planting. Due to the poor reading culture in Uganda, he went on to found another publication called Bingwa (champion in Swahili), given out free of charge to schools in Kenya and Uganda, and any money generated from this project is then used to build schools in Uganda for Child Africa.
 
But his biggest passion is in tree planting through the Better World Group, which he said he would like to see as the biggest tree planting company in the world within 20 years, an achievement that will need a lot of hard work and partners in Uganda as well. It has been highly active in Kenya for the last 6 years and will start in Uganda in a couple of years.
 
He also urged participants to look at the site webbizafrica.com, a portal listing all companies in Uganda and other African nations. 
 
In addition, he explained the planned building of a tourist resort on a 200 acres plot called Equator City,  right on the Equator that will look like a map of Uganda and will showcase virtually everything about the country, culture, people etc.
 
He reiterated again that tourism, ICT and forestry / agriculture were highly favourable investment areas. He explained that when people ask him, “when is the best time to invest in Uganda?” he usually answers by asking, “when is the best time to plant a tree"?   He said that by investing today, anyone will reap dividends 20 years from now, depending on the type of investment of course. “And when it comes to investing in Africa”, he said, “You can just as well skip the rest because Uganda is still the best”!
 
Major General Benon Biraaro, Founder and CEO of Lift Uganda Project.

He explained how his project was conceived 10 years earlier, looking for ways to not only eradicate poverty, but also to ensure that the manner to do it would come from Uganda. 30% of the population lives below poverty level; 40% are peasants and another 20% (7 millions Ugandans) of the population are able to do something. An arrangement was devised to make these 7 million Ugandans contribute every year $2 billion internally, so that the process of industrialization can be started, using national resources. 5 groups were formed out of the 20%: Platinum for those able to invest $2,000 every year, this one being the highest investment. The Gold group is for those able to invest $1,000; Silver Group for an investment of $500, and Bronze group for $100. The registration of the project was challenging, he said, but did get finalized recently and to this day, half a million Ugandan have signed to the project.
 
He went on to explain how he would mobilize $2 billion. The 250 thousand Ugandans who can be in the platinum category would mobilize £500 million. 750,000 Ugandans can part with $1000, generating another $750 million. A further one million people can pay $500, thereby mobilizing $500 million. And once the project is rolled out, the other lower investment groups would bring in a further $350 million.
 
What can the Diaspora do with regard to Lift? Lift is looking for strategic partners to invest in tourism, agro-culture, construction, power generation and also centres of excellence, to encourage the too relaxed workforce of Uganda to become more work conscientious, urging people to change their mindset in that regard.
 
He assured people that Lift was nearly ready to move into the actual implementation phase, and finished his presentation by calling on the best managers from around the world to help manage those £2 billion and implement the programs!
 
Lord Sheikh (House of Lords), Chairman of the Conservative Ethnic Diversity Council.

He urged listeners to become part of the establishment wherever they go, and get a hold in the professional or business organizations in their respective fields, thus contributing to the advancement of the professional bodies and get recognition through success. And quoting Lord Francis Bacon who said “I hold every man a debtor to his profession”, Lord Sheikh shared his belief that every member of the Diaspora is a debtor to his country of origin.
 
He went on to explain what he thought were the essential ingredients for success in business.
1. Build a strong team.
2. Be Innovative
3. Look for new opportunities
4. Have a vision!
5. Produce a product that provides value for money and is appropriately priced
6. Have an active marketing strategy
7. Always place great importance on customer care and ensure that standards of service are always high.
 
To be successful in business, one needs to look at trends and think of making products and services that will be needed. “Be a leader”, he urged, “think of something new, what the trend is going to be”. He recalled how his father used to tell him to follow three principles in life: to be the best in whatever he does, to be magnanimous and charitable and lastly, to always serve the community.
 
He said that the Diaspora of any foreign country tends to do well in the UK, but it must always remember where it comes from and keep affiliations with the mother land. “Your country needs you”, he said forcefully. He reminded everyone that Winston Churchill considered Uganda to be ‘The Pearl of Africa’, that Uganda still maintained that lustre and that the Diaspora has a role to play to ensure that the shine is maintained and continues to be maintained.
 
Hon Minister Evelyn Anite, Youth MP for Northern Uganda.

She mentioned that the northern districts lagged behind because of past political instability, in the areas of education, infrastructure and many other sectors. She invited the Diaspora to help build a sustainable growth in the area; firstly by visiting it and see firsthand what challenges the people are facing. Some cannot even speak English. How could the Diaspora help them learn the language? What has made these people drop out of school?
 
There are a lot of teenage pregnancies, as early as the age of 9 or 10 and these youngsters are not likely to go back to school.  Members of the Diaspora could become mentors to these young people. Another way to help is through networking, to identify with the people who need help. Also, she asked the audience to draw the attention of British NGOs and donors to the problems Northern Uganda is having, where they may be interested to help. She suggested that the Diaspora could organize more forums engaging on the development of Northern Uganda and urged the youngsters in the audience to join her in taking action for a way forward. 
 
 Hon Sam Engola, Minister of State for Housing.

He started by saying that the opportunity for houses in Uganda is very high. More than one million houses need to built in Uganda at the moment and he appealed to the Diaspora to help the country achieve this target.  He also encouraged people to go back home to buy a readymade flat or house, rather than rely on relatives to build a home for them, which they may find will never get done. He listed numerous new built properties for sale that were very affordable for members of the Diaspora and encouraged them to look at various projects offered by the National Housing Corporation (http://www.nhcc.co.ug/).
 
Mr Habib Migadde, representative of the Ugandan Embassy in South Sudan and MD of Mihasesu International.

He talked about opportunities in the South Sudan and the benefits that can be derived from doing so, such as increased export earnings, increased remittances from Ugandans and South Sudanese, increased employment opportunities and peace and stability. The main sectors mentioned were mining, fisheries, agriculture, education, health, construction, transport, ICT, tourism, banking and renewable energy. 
 
 Hon Christine Aporu, Minister of State for Teso Affairs.

She expressed her gratitude at being invited and said that the convention was one way of bringing Ugandans together to participate in the national affairs. She said that the government is looking at the Diaspora as partners in development and that it appreciates the continued support it has given in many ways over the years living away from home. The government recognizes that most, if not all of the Diaspora are people called erroneously ‘refugees’. But analysis shows that it is by choice that people have moved and live in the Diaspora. She urged people to feel free to approach the government to discuss the development of Uganda. She praised the first Ugandan UK Convention as a great innovation and invention, calling it also a historic occasion and was happy to be able to share her work plan, calling on investors and partners to help with the economic and social development of the Teso region. She mentioned openings in the sectors of infrastructure, the construction of a university which will need lecturers, and a food processing factory.