Assessment of the socio-economic impact of Tororo cement factory to the livelihood of people of Tororo: a case study of Osukuru sub county
Abstract
The study assessed the impact of Tororo cement factory on the socio-economic development of Osukuru, Tororo district, Uganda, The Study employs quantitative approach to investigate the impact and his is done with the following objectives; To examine the factors responsible for the establishment of the cement factory, to analyze the social impact of Tororo Cement Factory to the people of Tororo and to examine the economic impact of Tororo Cement Factory to the people of Tororo. Data was collected through administration of questionnaire among 93 households out of the 100 that were systematically sampled. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and Principal Component Analysis techniques. The result of the demographic characteristics of the respondents in the study area, It was observed that 69.9% of the respondents were male while female accounted for 30.1%. Men’s dominance could be due to the fact that heads of households were targeted, majority of the respondents are of the age range 30-34 years which accounted for 17.2% and closely followed by those of the age range of 25-29 years with a total of 15.1%, while 3.2% and 4.3% represent those of the age ranges of 15-19 years and 65 and above years respectively. It was also observed that the respondents were married thus may be had a dependency on the factory to fend for their families that is 43% followed by 21.5% were singles, 15% were widowed, 16.1% were divorced and 4.4% were separated. The weekly income of the respondents in reveals that majority (35.5%) earn in the range of Shs10, 000- Shs50, 000 as weekly income while 29.6% earn less than Shs10,000 and 16.1% earned both between Shs50,000 – 100,000 and between Shs100,000 – 150,00. Only 5.4% earn above Shs150,000 as their weekly income. Osukuru community was a hamlet before the coming of the cement factory but its establishment has brought with its different people from all over the country to settle there. The settlement of these migrants has also increased the population of the community Tororo Cement Factory should undertake community development projects annually with more priority given to developmental projects that will have direct socio-economic impact on the host community and its residents for example, schools, roads, hospitals, portable drinking water, market etc. these projects should be decided by the community stake holders (community leaders and elders) and executed by the company. The study also suggests that cement manufacturers establish guidelines for internal quality following specific environmental objectives and ensure customer satisfaction. However, companies must ensure that these quality guidelines are cost effective according to their implementation and efficiency