Museveni Commissions NEC Beef and Beans Factory in Gomba as UPDF Commits to Domestic Procurement of Army Rations
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By Frank Oyugi
GOMBA 15th July 2026 — President Yoweri Museveni has directed investment licensing bodies to ensure that all newly licensed ventures are immediately supported with the prerequisite infrastructure needed for full operationalization. The President issued the directive while commissioning the newly established National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) Tinned Beef and Beans Factory in Gomba District.
The state-of-the-art facility is a joint venture between the National Enterprise Corporation—the commercial arm of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF)—and Lagwa Company Limited. Designed to process meat for both export and domestic consumption, the factory boasts a processing capacity of 150 cattle slaughtered daily.
To support this new milestone, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, confirmed that the UPDF will prioritize the domestic procurement of dry beef rations directly from the Gomba-based establishment. He noted that the ministry is deliberately pivoting toward investments in production and value addition to achieve institutional self-sustainability, heavily supporting local manufacturing capacity while supplying high-quality food rations to troops deployed on various missions.
Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka further explained that the defence sector is aligning its strategic focus with the government's ambitious USD 500 billion national economic target. To realize this goal, the ministry is diversifying its efforts to support the "four ATMs" (Agriculture, Tourism, Manufacturing, and Services), utilizing the commercial and production capabilities of the UPDF to drive wealth creation and national development.
The President’s policy directive to licensing bodies was prompted by his observation that several licensed investments across the country continue to face operational bottlenecks due to a lack of basic enablers, such as reliable electricity. He cited the Gomba factory itself as a primary example of a project whose full potential was temporarily hindered by power supply delays, attributing these bottlenecks to a lack of coordination between investment sector leadership and line ministries responsible for utility delivery.
According to President Museveni, these coordination gaps partly informed his recent leadership changes within the investment docket, which saw the appointment of new leaders, including the incoming State Minister for Investment, Hajjat Aminah Mukalazi, who has been tasked with streamlining these processes and eliminating bureaucratic delays.
During the commissioning ceremony, the President commended private investor Francis Lagwa for partnering with the government through NEC to establish the strategic venture. To ensure the factory runs at peak capacity, the President committed to mobilizing local livestock farmers to guarantee a steady and adequate supply of cattle to the facility.
Addressing the immediate utility concerns of the newly commissioned factory, the State Minister for Energy, Sidronius Opolot Okasai, outlined the government's immediate plans to upgrade power transmission lines in Gomba District to ensure a stable, uninterrupted electricity supply for the plant’s industrial operations.
