By Frank Kamuntu
When conversations around infrastructure, minerals, and Uganda’s industrial future emerge, one name is echoing louder than most: Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki. But this isn’t just a story of quarries, factories, and national transformation—it’s also a story of political ambition. With his eyes firmly set on the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) Vice Chairmanship for Western Uganda, Jonard is mounting a bold challenge to Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, a seasoned political operator and current minister.
And he’s not showing up empty-handed.
Jonard’s professional pedigree is built on steel, stone, and strategy. A trained engineer and seasoned industrial consultant, his footprint can be traced across Uganda’s most ambitious infrastructure and extractive projects. From leading development on the Tilenga Quarry Project, to steering cement mining strategies in Tororo, to supporting mineral mapping in Rubanda, Rukiga, and Ntungamo—Jonard is both builder and brains behind Uganda’s industrial momentum.
Yet, he’s more than a technical hand. He is a policy thinker, advising both the Petroleum Authority of Uganda and the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects (NERAMP). Whether it’s designing clean-tech solutions like Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) for factories or advocating for environmentally responsible mining, Jonard is proving that industrial growth and sustainability can go hand in hand.
“Uganda’s future is not in exporting raw minerals, but in processing, value addition, and industrial scaling,” he often says.
A Manifesto Forged In Industry
At the heart of Jonard’s political pitch is economic empowerment through industrialisation. His CEC campaign manifesto outlines a bold vision:
- Establish mineral smelters in five districts
- Formalize 10,000 artisanal miners
- Increase mineral export value by over $50 million
- Launch a Local Content Innovation Fund to capitalize 1,000 SMEs across construction, agribusiness, and mining sectors
For the NRM grassroots, this is more than rhetoric. It’s a plan to lift district GDP, improve local procurement inclusion, and unlock the full power of Uganda’s underground wealth.
Why Baryomunsi Should Be Worried
Dr. Chris Baryomunsi may hold the title of Vice Chairman (Western Uganda) on the NRM’s Central Executive Committee, but Jonard’s challenge is reshaping the power dynamics. He is positioning himself as the industrial-generation candidate, not a career politician, but a pragmatic technocrat with a proven record and real sector influence.
His approach is resonating with the youth, entrepreneurs, and technocrats in the NRM who are demanding economic action, not just political allegiance. With Uganda’s industrial future at stake, they are increasingly rallying behind Jonard as a new type of leader—results-driven, innovation-focused, and unafraid to disrupt the status quo.
From Dust To Development
Through cross-sector partnerships with NEMA, the Ministry of Works and Transport, and private players like Sunbird and Cement Uganda, Jonard is walking the talk of sustainable industrial development. His work is not just reshaping Uganda’s physical landscape—it’s influencing national policy and energizing political discourse.
“Uganda can’t be built on slogans—we need systems, science, and sweat,” Jonard declares. “The people are ready. We just need the right leadership.”
Whether in a boardroom, on a quarry site, or at the political podium, Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki is emerging as a generational leader—grounded in engineering, driven by economics, and now ready to wield political power to scale Uganda’s industrial future.
His bid to unseat Dr. Baryomunsi is more than a political contest—it’s a statement that the future of leadership in Western Uganda lies not just in rhetoric, but in results.
Email: swiftnewsug@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +256 754 137 391