MPs urge Parliament to buy Kiira Motors buses for oversight trips

What the report says

Members of Parliament in Kampala have called on Parliament to procure buses made by Kiira Motors Corporation for oversight trips, framing the move as a way to back Ugandan innovation and create a reliable market for locally developed technology. The appeal came during debate on a House Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation report that examined how public research spending is translating into commercial products.

Committee chair Hon. Samuel Opio said public bodies should deliberately buy local technologies, citing low uptake of Kiira Motors buses by the public sector. Other MPs, including Kitgum Municipality’s Denis Oneka Lit, supported the idea and pointed to Kiira Motors’ growth from an innovation project at Makerere University into a producer of electric buses used on Kampala streets. The report said the company has received Shs223 billion in government funding over 12 years and operates a plant in Jinja with capacity for 2,500 vehicles a year, expandable to 10,000.

The wider debate focused on whether state-backed innovation programs are producing enough commercial value. MPs raised concerns about returns from other projects, including banana industrial development and startup incubation efforts, and called for stronger supervision, clearer performance measures and dedicated commercialization support. Hon. Emmanuel Banya urged a competitive fund for promising university innovations, while Shadow Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Eunice Otuko asked for evidence of patents, jobs and marketable products.

Responding for government, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said research should move beyond prototypes and university projects into commercial production. The discussion underscored Parliament’s growing interest in using public procurement and oversight to support local industry and improve returns on investment in science and technology.