Tororo

Tororo

Storm in Tororo
Tororo

Location in Uganda

Coordinates: 00°41′34″N 34°10′54″E / 0.69278°N 34.18167°E
Country Uganda
Region Eastern Uganda
District Tororo District
Elevation 3,888 ft (1,185 m)
Population (2014 Census)
 • Total 41,906[1]
Tororo rock
For the Japanese yam, see Dioscorea opposita. For the Sgt. Frog character, see Tororo (Sgt. Frog). For Tororo District, see Tororo District.

Tororo is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Tororo District. The district was named after the town.

Location

The town of Tororo is located approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the town of Malaba at the border between Uganda and Kenya. This location is approximately 230 kilometres (140 mi), by road, east of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.[2] The coordinates of the town are:0°41'34.0"N, 34°10'54.0"E (Latitude:0.692780; Longitude:34.181655).[3]

Overview

It is known for its Hindu temples and the rock looming over the town. The town is also an important road junction. The town has been known as one of the most thunderous places in the world with frequent thunderstorms occurring. Apart from this, Tororo is extremely rich in minerals, with one of the highest phosphorus deposits in the world, according to a recent UN report on mineral depositions.

Population

In 2002 the national census put the population of the town of Tororo at about 34,800. In 2010, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), estimated the population of the town at 42,500. In 2011, UBOS estimated the mid-year population of Tororo at 43,700.[4] The 2014 national population census put the population of Tororo at 41,906.[1]

Local economy

Tororo, like many up-country towns in Uganda, has a weak local economy. The average income in the district is very low and therefore cannot adequately support growth locally. Consequently, civil society organisations (such as NGOs, community organisations and the like) have had a significant influence on employment and capital flows into the district and its immediate surroundings, such as Mbale and Soroti districts.

Industry

Tororo is the location of a major cement works, Tororo Cement Limited, which has the capacity to produce 19,000 metric tonnes of cement daily.[5] It is also home to a food factory Seba Foods that was officially opened by the President of Uganda on 25 June 2010.[6] Electromaxx Limited constructed a 20MW thermal plant, Tororo Power Station, which was commissioned in June 2010. There are plans to increase production at this plant to 50MW. Tororo is also the location of Nilefos Minerals Limited, a subsidiary of the Madhvani Group of Companies. Nilefos mines and processes phosphates for use in fertilizer and related industries. [7]

Education

Tororo has some of the oldest secondary schools in East Africa. These include St. Peter's College Tororo, sometimes referred to as Tororo College, Tororo Girls School, Tororo Rock High School, Manjasi High School, Tororo Progressive Academy, Kisoko School, Nagongera Mission School, and other schools in the municipality. An up-and-coming primary school is Mifumi Primary School. Busitema University, one of Uganda's public universities, maintains a campus at Nagongera, in the northwestern part of the district.

Tourism

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras Tororo experienced a tea boom and the houses of the plantation owners and merchants have remained and some are being restored as inns. The district is also the location of Tororo Rock, a geological pillar which overlooks the town.

Churches

Tororo town has a number of churches of Catholic, Protestant and Pentecostal denominations:

Transport

Rail

Tororo railway station on the Uganda Railway.

Tororo marks the junction of railway lines to Pakwach, via Soroti and to Kasese via Kampala.

Since 1993 the metre gauge line from Tororo Junction to Gulu and Pakwach has been out of use. Rift Valley Railways funded clearing the line east to Gulu of vegetation and repairing structure, thus allowing the first commercial train for 20 years to run through on the metre gauge track from the Kenyan port Mombasa over Nairobi and Eldoret to the Kenyan frontier in Tororo and onwards to Gulu on the line to Pakwach on September 14, 2013.[8]

Inland Port

On 25 June 2010, Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, commissioned the construction of Tororo Inland Port, an inland dry port in Malaba, close to the border with Kenya.[9] The location of the inland port is approximately 8 miles (13 km) east of Tororo on the Tororo-Eldoret Highway.[10] When completed in November 2012, as planned, the new, modern Inland port will replace the more than 10 existing inland facilities that constitute UIP (Uganda Inland Ports) and that have traditionally stored containers prior to clearance of customs and inland revenue duties.[11]

Points of interest

The following points of interest lie within the town limits or near its edges:

Photos

Statistics

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 UBOS, . (27 August 2014). "The Population of The Regions of the Republic of Uganda And All Cities And Towns of More Than 15,000 Inhabitants". Citypopulation.de Quoting Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Road Distance Between Kampala And Tororo With Map". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Location of Tororo At Google Maps". GoogleGoogle Maps. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  4. ↑ UBOS, . "Estimated Population of Tororo In 2002, 2010 & 2011". Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Kaujju, Peter (11 July 2007). "Cement Shortage Pushes Retail Price to Sh25,000". New Vision. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Ibrahim Kasita, Henry Mukasa and Moses Nampala (24 June 2010). "Power Cuts To Go - Museveni". New Vision. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  7. ↑ Ssonko, Kiganda (12 May 2008). "Madhvani To Invest $535 Million In Tororo Phosphates Mining". New Vision. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  8. ↑ Staff, Writers (9 October 2013). "Uganda's Northern Line Revived". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  9. ↑ URN, Reporter (13 September 2013). "Construction of Malaba Inland Port to Commence In October". Uganda Radio Network Online (URN). Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Road Distance Between Tororo and Malaba With Map". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Oluoch, Fred (1 November 2010). "Tororo Dry Port To Begin Operations By 2012". The Eastfican. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Kasita, Ibrahim (29 December 2009). "Electromaxx Tests 20MW Power Plant". New Vision. Retrieved 11 May 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tororo, Uganda.

Coordinates: 00°41′34″N 34°10′52″E / 0.69278°N 34.18111°E