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07 January 2008: The Chamber Newsletter and Business Report
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140,000 acres for investors
By David Muwanga
The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has identified 140,754 acres of land in 21 districts for investors seeking land.
Most of the land is privately owned and is for sale, lease or joint ventures. "Other land available is public land under various government institutions and ministries. The authority is negotiating with them to have some of the unutilized land availed to investors," Ms Pamela Ayebale, the investment executive said at a workshop for northern leaders at Acholi Inn.
She said the other available land is at the proposed industrial parks in Namanve, Luzira and Bweyogerere all of which are within a radius of 15km from the city. Ayebale said the land ministry was establishing a land information system after discovering that only 15% of the land in Uganda had been surveyed and registered.
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Power consumers form committee
By Ibrahim Kasita
The first Electricity Consumer Committee (ECC) that will monitor the power on behalf of consumers has been inaugurated.
The seven-member committee, which will start its operations in Kampala Central Division, is composed of members from the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Uganda Manufacturers Association, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda, and the Uganda Hoteliers Association and domestic consumers.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) and the committee.
"The main issue reason for establishment of the ECC is to raise knowledge about the sector's issues," Frank Sebowa, the ERA Chief Executive Officer said.
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Sh300 more for coffee farmers
By Charles Bwogi
Coffee farmers in Busenyi who sold their produce through the Ware House Receipt System in July earned Sh300 above the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) indicative price.
Under the system, farmers deposit their produce at a certified warehouse, get a receipt, and use it to look for market or as collateral for loans from banks.
"Bushenyi farmers who traded through the system earned Sh2, 600 per kilogram above the indicative price of Sh2, 300," Christian Baine of Coronet Consult, the company that manages the warehouses under the system, elaborated.
Baine said farmers from nine cooperative societies in Bushenyi trading under Ankole Coffee Producers Union deposited 20 tonnes of Robusta coffee, which was bought by the Great Lakes Coffee Company.
Fred Mwesigye, the commissioner for cooperative development and coordinator of the project, said the system allows farmers to get a premium price for good quality.
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Inflation rate down to 4.2% - 02/08/2007
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics Director of Macro-economic Statistics, Mr Matthew Ssewanyana has said the 4.2% was last recorde in May this year."Since the introduction of the fuel tax in the 2007/08 Budget and the world market fuel prices, we had anticipated that fuel prices would make the inflation soar," he said
Food carries a big weight in the consumer Index.
Underlying inflation, which excludes food prices, declined to 6.8& from 7.3%. "We can possibly hope for lower inflation in the coming months if the ongoing harvesting season accompanied by good rains stretches up to September," Ssewanyana said.
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Suruma tables Finance - 02/08/2007
The 2007 finance bills proposing tax amendments for some products have been tabled before MPs by finance minister Ezra Suruma.
The bills were forwarded last week to the parliamentary committee on finance for debate. They are presumed to have come into effect on July 1.
The Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill proposes addition of vetereinary services and mosquito nets to the list of supplies exempted from the tax.
The Income Tax Amendment Bill seeks to exempt income of airlines and of a person exporting finished consumer and capital goods for 10 years from tax
The Excise Tariff Bills seek a new schedule for rates of excise duty for several items
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East Africa Business Council launches survey report - 20th July, 2007
UGANDA has the slowest customs procedures for businesspeople in the region, an East African Business Climate Survey has indicated.
"On average, businesses spend between one hour and half a day at customs and the problem is more prone in Uganda followed by Tanzania and Kenya.
"The time spent at customs shows that none of the countries is efficient at customs yet and the time spent has become more severe in the three countries," said Simon Ihiga, the consultant who did the survey.
The survey, the second of its kind, was conducted to get responses from the business community in the region on the non-tariff barriers that exist in the partner states.
It was also meant to document perceptions of the business community and selected government representatives on the status, impact and future expectations of the business climate. It was sponsored by the East African Business Council and GTZ.
The report said Uganda fared on time spent at border posts, but there was no general improvement in the area since 2004 in any of the partner states. "The survey found out that more time was spent at border posts in Kenya.
"On average, 61.5% of the East African Community businesses spend between 30 minutes and over two hours at immigration border crossings."
Country comparisons showed that Kenya had 67.6% businesses indicating they spend 30 minutes to over two hours, with 62.5% in Tanzania and 54.8% in Uganda.
This is different from 2004 when Uganda registered 62%, Kenya 55% and Tanzania 24%.
"The overall indication is that time spent at border crossing points has become worse compared to 2004," Ihiga said at the results presentation at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel.
451 businesses responded to the survey, although the consultant said Ugandans, especially those in government departments were "very conscious and guarded" about their answers, a fact he said affected the overall situation in Uganda.
The situation worsened in business registration and licensing procedures, with 70% of businesses in Kenya, 59% in Tanzania and 51% in Uganda indicating that they spend between 11 days and over two months in these procedures.
"The situation again seems to have worsened compared to 2004 when 25% of the businesses in Uganda, 20% in Kenya and 17% in Tanzania indicated that they spend between 11 and over 30 days for these procedures."
There were also general problems regarding quality standards inspections and export certification and weighbridge stations with 66% of East African businesses perceiving fair and professional treatment at weighbridge stations as sometimes or always problematic and 64% saying the same for quality standards inspections.
Charles Mbogori, the East African Business Council chief, however, said the future was good.
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Museveni gives Nakasero to vendors - 12/07/2007
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has given clearance to the vendors of Nakasero Market to redevelop it into a modern shopping complex, overturning an earlier decision by KCC to lease the market to businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba.
The President made the announcement at State House yesterday during a meeting with a delegation of traders and officials of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce.
“Museveni told the vendors to go ahead with their plan of constructing a modern structure of their market,” read a statement by State House, issued shortly after the meeting.
“He stressed that, as efforts to modernise the market progress, priority must be given to the sitting tenants, who, in this case, are the members of Nakasero Market Sitting Vendors and Traders Limited.”
He also clarified that they were free to identify a partner with whom to carry out the project as a joint venture.
The fundamental point to be agreed upon, he told the delegation, was that Nakasero Market, situated in the heart of the city, be developed to modern standards.
He instructed the Kampala Resident District Commissioner, Stanley Kinyatta, to compile a list of all the traders and vendors in the city markets to guard against impostors.
The vendors’ chairman, Godfrey Kakooza, thanked the President and the Kampala district authorities for the amicable way in which the issue of Nakasero Market had been resolved.
The chamber of commerce, too, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. Spokesman Muhammad Matovu said by intervening in the Nakasero Market saga, the President had saved them from losing their source of livelihood.
The meeting was attended by the State Minister for Economic Monitoring, Kagimu Kiwanuka, Kinyatta and the chairperson of the Uganda Chamber of Commerce, Oliver Kigongo.
The Kampala City Council recently decided to lease the market to city businessman Basajjabalaba. The council’s decision, which was supported by local government minister Major General Kahinda Otafiire, sparked off protests from the vendors who feared they would be evicted.
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National Chamber President meets vendors over Nakasero Market - 09/07/2007
The President of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms Olive Zaitun Kigongo, has urged the parties involved in the sale of the Nakasero Market to meticulously consult all stakeholders before any deal is sealed."Market authorities need to be sensitive to the issue of displacing women some of whom are widows with children and are, at the same time, bread winners for their families and their only source of livelihood is the market," Kigongo said while meeting representatives of the over 20,000 Nakasero Market Vendors Association at Mosa Courts on July 9 (Monday), 2007. The Vendors association is a member of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI).
She said the gender dimension of the displaced vendors should be looked into before they are pushed away. "As representative of the interests of the business community, the Chamber's position is that we are not opposed to modernization, but thorough consultation of stakeholders should be carried out. For instance the vendors and the Market authorities can work out a joint venture strategy," she added.
Speaking on behalf of the vendors, the Association Chairman Mr. Godfrey Kakooza thanked the Chamber for being a consistent channel of voicing the problems of the business community in Uganda. He said contrary to recent press reports that the vendors are anti-development, they are only asking that modernity should follow established legal procedures.
"We also need well developed and modern markets. But why are contracts to give away the market signed at night and with a handful of members?" Kakooza asked. He said they were only opposed to the "non-participatory, illegal manner shrouded in corrupt tendencies" that the Market authorities exhibited from the beginning.
Kakooza said: "We are requesting our good President, Yoweri Museveni, to come to our rescue since he preaches prosperity for all. How rich are we going to become when our livelihood (market) is gone?" Kigongo promised the vendors that the Chamber would consult stakeholders including the President on the status of Nakasero Market development.
MEDIA CONTACT
Mohammed Matovu
Tel: +256 414 50 30 24
Email: meddieme@yahoo.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Uganda National Chamber for Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) is the national voice of local business. The UNNCI sits at the heart of a powerful nationwide network of regional chambers of commerce serving business across Uganda, Eastern Africa and globally.
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30 March 2007 - Uganda, Sudan plan joint businesss council
The Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) is to establich a joint Business Council (JBC) with the Sudanese Employers and Business Federation. This comes after the signing of a memorandum at the Uganda - Sudan Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) session in Khartoum last week.
The UNCCI vice president, Mr. Kassim Omar, said the joint council would address constraing to business between the two countries."Over the past years, the governments of Uganda and Sudan have engaged in discussions and come up with activities like a memorandum and agreements to strengthen policies affecting the business relationaships between them," Mr. Omar said.
He said the countries had agreed to renew, with amendments, the trade agreements signed in 1977. Mr. Omar said the JMC stressed the need to develop adequate infrastructural links.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Uganda Fish Exports Earn Shs255 Billion in 2005
UGANDA’S fish exports for the year 2005 have earned an addi- tional 39 million US Dollars (Uganda Shs70 billion). The remarkable performance has been partly attributed to an increase in export ton- nage and the higher prices in foreign markets. The price per kilogram of fish fillet was $4, up from $3.5 in 2004. Total earnings for 2005 hit $142 million (about Shs255 billion) up from $103 million (about Shs185 billion) in 2004.35,000 tonnes of fish fillets were exported, up from 32,000 tonnes in 2004.
Destinations for Uganda’s fish now include the EU, Asia-Japan, Aus- tralia, South America, Cuba, US, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa region among others. More than 350,000 people are directly employed by the fisheries in- dustry in Uganda and over 1.2 million are indirectly employed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Uganda earns over US$ 32 Million from Education Export in 2005
In a study carried out in September 2005, it was established that Uganda currently offers education services to over 28000 international students in its secondary schools and about 5000 in the higher Institutions. Uganda earned over US$ 32 Million in 2004/05 from the ex- port of education.
It was further established that Kenya is the leading source of international students at all levels, contributing over 60% at secondary level and 71% at University level. Tanzania fol- lows Kenya at 16% and 12% at both levels respectively. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan are also key sources of international students and their numbers are growing every year. Because of the growing demand for education in the re- gion, Uganda could attract over one million international students in both secondary and higher institutions of learning by 2010.
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