| Overview : Rwenzori is a border region with the Democratic Republic of Congo found in mid- Western Uganda and it comprises eight districts, namely, Kabarole, Kasese, Bundibugyo, Ntoroko, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa, Bunyangabu, Kamwenge and Fort portal municipality. It has a population growth rate of 3% with approximately three million people and over 320,000 households. The Rwenzori region is endowed with diversified riches in natural resources (fertile land, minerals, forestry, wildlife, and energy) as well as being contiguous to 5 countries of the Great Lakes region (Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia), providing significant potential for development, regional cooperation and economic integration. This potential remains under-exploited due to several factors including, among others, poor physical and economic infrastructure, persistent insecurity exacerbated by the presence of armed groups and transnational organized crime and insufficient levels of foreign and domestic private investment in the region. Government of Uganda is desirous to transform the region from conflict to an economic zone by fully exploiting the region’s economic potential in order to improve the quality of life of its people. Hence, Government introduced the Agro-industrialization for Local Economic Development (Agri-LED) initiative for Rwenzori as a framework to spur local economic development in this region for a period of three years starting Financial Year 2019/2020 – 2021/2022, with an estimated total financing of UGX 715Bn (USD 194M). The initiative focuses on five areas; agro- industrialization; tourism; production and marketing; infrastructure development, and; human capital development. Agri- LED is a Presidential transformative initiative with the overall strategic direction of transforming the Local Government financing system to facilitate effective business oriented local development with a focus on poverty reduction and sustainable wealth creation, as guided by the Government’s Local Economic Development (LED) Policy (2014). The LED policy supports the County’s strategy of implementing private sector-led economic interventions, tackles unemployment and paves way for Local Governments to generate their own revenue in order to deliver decentralized services to the people |
