Parliament has unanimously adopted a resolution directing the government to rehabilitate and operationalise the long-dormant Lira Spinning Mill.
The lawmakers say it could revive northern Uganda’s cotton industry, create jobs and strengthen the country’s textile manufacturing capacity.
The estimated US$58 million project is being framed as both an economic intervention for northern Uganda and a key component of the government’s efforts to reduce dependence on imported secondhand clothing.
The motion was moved by Oyam County North MP Dr Eunice Otuko Apio and expanded through amendments requiring the government to undertake a comprehensive technical, financial, legal and commercial audit of the mill within six months.
Lawmakers proposed that the facility be capitalised through the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), public-private partnerships or other structured financing arrangements.
MPs also called for the government to look beyond Lira and develop a nationwide strategy for reviving cotton-processing infrastructure.
Igara West MP Cohen Amanya, Bukonzo East County MP Dr Julius Rude Monday and Terego District Woman MP Rose Obiga cited underutilised processing capacity in Kasese, Rubirizi, Pakwach and parts of West Nile, arguing that reviving the cotton value chain requires investment beyond a single facility.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa acknowledged that the resolution has significant budgetary implications and extended the government’s reporting period to six months instead of the standard 60 days provided for under Rule 229 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.
“Because it has a budgetary implication, I don’t want the minister to just come and say, ‘I presented it to cabinet,’” Tayebwa said.
“In six months, we shall be monitoring whether even in the budget we have taken some steps.”
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Finance are now expected to develop a practical roadmap for implementing the resolution.
Minister of State for Trade (Cooperatives) Alero Tom Aza committed the government to preparing a comprehensive report covering challenges affecting cotton production and the revival of ginneries and related processing infrastructure across the country.
Lira Spinning Mill was established as a strategic national asset to consume locally produced cotton and supply the domestic textile industry.
The facility was once among the largest spinning plants in East Africa and played a significant role in the economy of the Lango sub-region.
However, years of civil conflict, economic disruption, policy changes, and difficulties surrounding privatisation contributed to the collapse of its operations.
A subsequent attempt to revive the facility through a Chinese joint venture also struggled, with inadequate supplies of raw cotton among the challenges.
The prolonged closure has left cotton farmers with limited access to stable, high-value domestic markets while depriving the region of industrial employment opportunities.
Apio said Uganda’s failure to process more of its cotton locally has forced the country into a cycle of exporting raw materials and importing finished products.
“For over forty years, this country has exported raw, ginned cotton for peanuts, only to import finished textiles and secondhand clothes at a premium… This is economic sabotage we cannot continue to watch,” Apio told Parliament.
The parliamentary resolution comes shortly after the enactment of the External Trade (Amendment) Act 2026, which imposes a 30 percent environmental levy on the CIF value of imported worn clothing and other used articles.
Lawmakers argue that imposing a levy on secondhand clothing without simultaneously expanding domestic textile production could have limited industrial impact.
They say reviving Lira Spinning Mill and other processing facilities would give local manufacturers the capacity to produce textiles that can compete with imported clothing.
The proposal also ties into the government’s “Buy Uganda, Build Uganda” (BUBU) policy, adopted by Cabinet in 2014 and formally launched in 2017.
MPS suggested that public institutions including the security forces, prisons, police and public schools would be encouraged or required to source uniforms and related textile products locally once production resumes.
Supporters of the mill’s revival estimate that a fully operational facility and the businesses linked to its supply chain could create opportunities for up to 70,000 unemployed or underemployed young people and women through factory employment, logistics, cotton handling and downstream enterprises.
However, the scale of the projected employment would depend on the mill’s eventual production capacity, investment model and the availability of sufficient locally produced cotton.
The proposed revival also fits into the government’s Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), covering the 2025/26 to 2029/30 financial years.
The plan prioritises sustainable industrialisation, employment and wealth creation, with agro-industrialisation and manufacturing identified as key avenues for increasing household incomes and transforming Uganda’s predominantly agricultural economy-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
