The Kampala administration recently defended Uganda’s High Commissioner to Canada, Ambassador Joy Ruth Aceng, after she reportedly clashed with a section of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party supporters in the foreign land.
This was when the NUP supporters attempted to interrupt a ceremony organized by the supporters of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to recognize his enormous achievements in the past 38 years.
Henry Okello Oryem, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said it could be unfair to judge Ambassador Aceng by what happened between her and the NUP supporters but by her performance while in Canada for many years.
In fact, the Canadian government ordered the former Ugandan envoy to Ottawa out citing behavioral concerns, but until now she has remained in Canada according to unverified source.
In this piece, we explore Ambassador Aceng’s achievements in Canada since her appointment in 2016 until her expulsion in August 2024.
Despite serving as the Uganda High Commissioner in Ottawa for an uninterrupted eight years with the most cordial bilateral relations with the Canadian government, Amb. Aceng was also the Dean (Head) of all African Ambassadors in Canada for over three years, a position she held until recently.
She held several trade, investment, and tourism expos in Canada to spur economic growth back in Uganda. For instance, she was the chief guest at the 2023 Uganda Canadian Diaspora Business Expo and Convention.
“It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the Uganda High Commission, Ottawa, to welcome you all to the Canada Business Expo and Convention, the first of its kind in Toronto, Canada. I take this opportunity to congratulate the organizers for the time and other resources they have invested in making this event a reality,” she said.
The Canada Business Expo and Convention is an occasion to showcase and highlight the opportunities Uganda offers in tourism, trade, and investment.
The Convention also provides opportunities for Ugandans in the Diaspora to interact with Ugandans from home, to get updated on developments at home, and to share ideas and information with Canadian participants.
Under the agricultural sector, Amb Aceng, during various international engagements, said Uganda has several investment opportunities that exist in primary production, value addition, and services in the agriculture sector.
“Commercial farming opportunities exist in traditional and non-traditional cash crops targeting local, regional, and international markets; apiculture development and sericulture development,” she said.
In her several engagements to woo investments, she identified sectors including horticulture, commercial fish farming, poultry farming, animal husbandry farming, and greenhouse farming for seasonal commodities, among others.
“In addition to food processing, there are several investment opportunities in grinding plants; grain processing; fish and beef canning; tomato paste; fruit juice extraction; natural fiber processing; instant coffee processing,” she noted.
Under Oil and Gas, Ambassador Aceng, in both Toronto and Ottawa conventions, said many opportunities exist in the midstream (transportation and refining) and downstream (distribution and marketing).
She further listed the energy sector, including biomass, petroleum, geothermal, wind, solar, and hydro, as potential investment opportunities yet to be exhausted by the interested investors.
Under Infrastructure, Amb. Aceng encouraged international investors to tap existing opportunities in the vast water transport and entertainment vessels, air and cargo transportation, and construction of road networks through public-private partnerships.
She further tipped potential investors to invest in road management systems and both local domestic air transport.
In one of her engagements with potential investors in Canada, she reportedly said massive opportunities exist in mining, water and sanitation, education, health, trade, tourism, housing, and ICT sectors.
Nevertheless, Ambassador Aceng, who served as Uganda’s High Commission in Canada for eight years, recently commended the Canadian government for successfully hosting the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Uganda’s bilateral relations with Canada started deteriorating shortly after kick-starting the processes to enact the anti-homosexuality law about two years ago.
Amb. Aceng confirmed how she was summoned four times about the matter and how she had literally given hard times.
According to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala, a decision to transfer her from Canada had been made several months upon the guidance of her appointing authority before the recent clash with NUP that led to her expulsion.
Stay tuned for the second edition of Ambassador Joy Ruth Aceng’s performance and how she excelled in Canada for eight years with an enormous record of quick wins for her country, Uganda.
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