Ms Damali Ssali, the Ag. Country Director TradeMark East Africa, Uganda believes that the recently launched Trade Information Portal will further improve the ease of doing business in Uganda through making information about Uganda’s exports, imports and goods in transit readily available for traders and consumers alike.
“The most recent World Bank Doing Business Report indicated that Uganda had declined from 115 in 2017 to 122 in 2018. We expect that the launch and operationalisation of the Trade Information Portal will contribute to Uganda’s improvements in the Word Bank ranking on ease of doing business in 2019,” Ms Ssali noted at the launch of the trade information portal.
“The Uganda Trade Information Portal is a trade facilitation platform providing access to fully transparent practical step-by-step guides to the licenses, pre-clearance permits and clearance formalities for the most traded goods in and out of Uganda: at each step, the trade portal tells the user where to go, who to see, what documents to bring, what forms to fill, what costs to pay, what law justifies the step and where to complain to in case of a problem.
“The Trade Information Portal is implemented by the Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC) and the National Trade Facilitation Committee, in partnership with the East African Community Secretariat (EAC) and with support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and International Trade Centre (ITC).
Group photo of Trade stakeholders that attended the launch of the trade information portal.
Below is her full speech from this event.
It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to address this very important gathering which is going to witness the launch of the Uganda’s Trade Information Portal.
We acknowledge and hugely appreciate that TMEA is funded by Governments of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the EU, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
I am happy to note that TradeMark East Africa was created by the UK Government and that the UK is the biggest funder of TradeMark East Africa across the region.
I would also like to acknowledge the presence of the US-AID representative, Ms Sheila Desai, and convey our appreciation for the support provided to Trademark East Africa and Uganda to implement the Trade Information Portal that we are launching today.
Hon. Minister, as a Ugandan I am very proud of the achievements of your ministry.
Key among these are:
The ratification of the Continental Free Trade Area which is going to facilitate us as Africans to trade more with each other.
At the recent trade sector review, Hon. Minister, you presented data that indicated that since 2013 Uganda has been recording a net trade surplus with its neighbours in the East African Community.
For the year 2017/18 the net trade surplus with the community amounted to over USD400million.
This strongly demonstrates that Uganda has a comparative advantage on cross border trade and the ratification of the Continental Free Trade Area will further facilitate us to trade with the rest of Africa.
Again, at recent trade sector review, the ministry launched the Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises strategy; it is estimated that this sector alone employs over 3.5million Ugandans.
Hon. Minister we hope to work with the ministry on some of the implementation aspects of this strategy.
The ministry ratified the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation Agreement. This launch of the Uganda Trade Information Portal today demonstrates the ministry’s commitment to implementing this agreement.
I congratulate the ministry on the recent winning of the Digital Impact Awards for the implementation of the Non-Tariff Barrier Reporting System. This system can can be accessed by dialling *201#.
Ladies and gentlemen, over 82% of NTBs reported through this system have been resolved. This system has also been internationally recognised and was showcased at the WTO in Geneva last month as an innovative and inclusive tool to solve NTBs.
Over the last 2 years, the ministry has implemented the Uganda Electronic Single Window, which to date has over ten trade agencies transacting on it.
Some of these agencies transacting on the Uganda Electronic Single Window include: Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, National Drugs Authority, and Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, and the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, among others.
Group photo of Trade stakeholders that attended the launch of the trade information portal.
The next phase will be to interface the electronic single window, which is transactional, with the trade information portal so that a trader, importer or exporter, canseamlessly interact and transact with both systems.
The ministry has championed the construction and operationalisation of the One Stop Border Posts at Mirama Hills the border with Rwanda, at Mutukula the border with Tanzania, at Busia the border with Kenya and at Elegu the border with South Sudan, which I believe has also contributed to improving Uganda’s trade balance on cross border trade.
Hon, Minister, certainly this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it does sample and demonstrate the work the you and your team have delivered.
Today, the launch of this Trade Information Portal is expected to further improve the ease of doing business in Uganda.
The most recent World Bank Doing Business Report indicated that Uganda had declined from 115 in 2017 to 122 in 2018. We expect that the launch and operationalisation of the Trade Information Portal will contribute to Uganda’s improvements in the Word Bank ranking on ease of doing business in 2019.
I would thank my colleagues:
Moses Sabiiti who wanted to be here today and he sends his regards,
Eugene Torero from our HQ in Nairobi who is our Director for Trade Policy and provides strategic guidance to policy matters,
Erick Sirali from our HQ in Nairobi, who has been the key liaison between the ministry and TradeMark on this project,
Kartan from UNCTAD who has provided technical assistance and last but certainly not least,
Sandra Kirenga Serwano who manages and is in charge for our trade portfolio at the TradeMark Uganda Country Programme.
I would also like to acknowledge some of the ministry team that has worked tirelessly, with us behind the scenes to get us here like Richard Okot, Josephine Karara and Mary Amumpire, Commissioner Silver Ojakol and Emmanuel Atwine.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for listening to me.
Last Thursday, Uganda government and development partners formally handed over the new Elegu One Stop Border Post to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) – the agency charged with managing all the country’s borders.
This technical handover was graced by representatives from Uganda, South Sudan and development partners.
Costing up to about USD 10 million, the Elegu one stop border post (OSBP) was funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) through TradeMark East Africa and government of Uganda.
Hon Amelia Kyambadde, the Trade Minister shares a little moment with development partners from UKaid and TradeMark East Africa.
To many, the completion and consequent handover of this vital facility is a new beginning that will further improve trade between Uganda and South Sudan, which is by the way already massive with the latter ranking as the former’s second biggest exports destination.
According to statistics from the central bank, Uganda in the 2017/18 financial year alone exported goods worth USD 311.34 million to South Sudan compared to USD 14.54 million of imports from the same country. Uganda’s exports to South Sudan included informal exports worth USD 54.17m in the same period.
Furthermore, border records indicate that over 300 cargo trucks are cleared at the Elegu-Nimule border everyday. Plus, there are more than 1000 informal cross border traders operating in the same area.
In a brief interview with traders and truck drivers at the Elegu market, many were very positive that this milestone infrastructure would facilitate trade through reducing clearance times and increasing collaboration between the two neighbors.
“ It is the first of its kind. Our biggest problem has always been floods at the clearance point and delayed clearance. But we have been told that the Elegu border post will solve these issues. We are optimistic that business is changing for the better,” Mr Nyero Daniel, an informal trader noted.
Elegu one stop border post (OSBP) was funded by the United Kingdom’s DFID through TradeMark East Africa and government of Uganda to a tone of about USD 10 million.
Meanwhile Ms Molly Andego, a cross border trader noted that now that the infrastructure is in place, it should be equipped with all facilities that are in other OSBPs across the region.
“ We thank everyone that contributed to this. It has taken long but it is finally here. We expect that at the soonest, this Elegu border post will be fitted with all systems and resources like they are in Busia and Mutukula border posts.”
Slow Movement on South Sudan side.
Nonetheless, while the Elegu border post is ready to facilitate trade, the Nimule side is not. In functionality, a one stop border post connects two countries and as such, must have presence at both sides of the border, in this case Elegu for Uganda and Nimule for South Sudan.
Unfortunately however, even though DFID and TradeMark EA are committed to constructing the required infrastructure in Nimule, pockets of instability in South Sudan have delayed the process.
In a recent interview, Ms Damali Ssali, the Ag. Country Director TradeMark East Africa, Uganda noted that “For Nimule, due to the crisis is South Sudan; construction of the refugee reception area is underway. When peace returns in South Sudan, and funding is available, the Nimule border will be fully constructed.”
Mr Adrian Green, the Head of Growth and Economic Management at UKAid chats with Hon Mou Mou Athian Kuol, the undersecretary in South Sudan’s ministry of Trade, Industries and East African Community affairs.
But according to Hon Mou Mou Athian Kuol, the undersecretary in South Sudan’s ministry of Trade, Industries and East African Community affairs, the recently signed peace agreement between H.E Salva Kiir and former Vice President – Hon Riek Machar will last and thus the construction of the Nimule border post will be fast-tracked.
Hon. Mou Mou Athian Kuol further promised that together with the S Sudan cabinet, they are going to make sure that Ugandan Traders are not mistreated in S Sudan.
“I have noted the issues about continuous mistreatment of Ugandan Traders by our people of South Sudan. As soon as I go back to South Sudan, I am going to table these issues to my bosses in the cabinet. I promise that this will be addressed. There is no reason for mistreating people that bring goods and services to us. We are all in business and we need each other,” Hon Mou Kuol noted.
The Elegu OSBP is among the over ten one stop border posts constructed by TradeMark East Africa in the East African Community. The others include; Mirama Hills Uganda / Kagitumba Rwanda, Busia Kenya/ Busia Uganda, Malaba Kenya / Malaba Uganda, Taveta Kenya / Holili Tanzania, Mutukula Tanzania / Mutukula Uganda, Kobero Burundi/ Kabanga Tanzania and Tunduma Tanzania.
In a bid to enhance recycling and waste segregation, Hariss International Limited the manufacturers of the Riham Products have entered into a partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) where they will be providing Two Hundred and Seventy Five (275) Litter Bins to all KCCA schools, and division offices within Kampala District.
Hariss International Limited. has a strategic goal to sensitize the youth in Uganda on the importance of plastic recycling. Their aim is to grow and inhabit a culture of recycling among the youth right from an earlier stage. They will invest in awareness initiatives, and easy to learn teaching campaigns that can assist the youth to understand what to recycle, how to recycle, and where to recycle.
Hariss International Limited. believes in a spherical economy where recycled plastic bottles can not only be reused for various other purposes but where the act of recycling can also be used as an alternative source of income for our community and wealth creation for the nation.
They will be officially handing over the said litter bins to KCCA at Kawempe Church of Uganda Primary School on Monday, 19th November 2018.
“In order to grow a recycling culture within our nation it is quintessential for us to collectively set a foundation upon which recycling can actually be achieved. It would be somewhat pointless to request an individual to a recycle a plastic bottle when they have to walk over a mile to find a recycling point. Therefore we all have a responsibility not only as manufacturers but as citizens of Uganda, to see to it that we can ease access to recycling especially within schools where we are endeavoring to encourage the youth to inhabit a culture of environmental conservation.” Ms. Racheal Luwedde the Public Relations manager Hariss International Limited noted.
They anticipate to further grow such partnerships in collaboration with more local communities, municipals, and authorities across the country.
The havoc that the over two decades-long Joseph Kony-led Lord Resistance Army (LRA) war left in northern Uganda was massive.
To some, it is one that has had permanent scars on the region and it will for a long time be remembered as the worst thing to have ever happened to that part of the country and Uganda as a whole.
According to a report by The Guardian, the rebel outfit, at its peak, displaced nearly two million people in areas within and around northern Uganda.
“By 2007, the conflict had seen more than 10,000 people massacred, while twice that number of children [had] been abducted by LRA and forced to work as soldiers, porters and sex slaves,” the report says.
However, around 2005-6 normalcy had started to return after the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) flashed the stubborn and now scampering LRA outfit out of the region into the jungles of DR Congo, Central African Republic and parts of South Sudan.
To date, the rebel outfit is still holed up in the jungles far away from our borders and security agencies have indicated it has been greatly weakened with no capacity to mount another insurgency or conduct raids within Uganda.
An internet map showing the northern region of Uganda – highlighted in red.
Therefore, this has given northern Uganda the space to pick up the ruins with key sectors such as health, transport, education and tourism showing a fair share of growth.
Beyond this, small and medium businesses have built back to become profitable. Safe cross border trade has also returned.
Even more interesting, the return of peace has boosted trade with South Sudan; the second biggest destination of Uganda’s exports in the East African region. According to statistics from the central bank, Uganda in the 2017/18 financial year alone exported goods worth USD 311.34 million to South Sudan compared to USD 14.54 million of imports from the same country.
However, notwithstanding the positive strides, the northern region which is an engine of the northern trade corridor, serving as links to South Sudan and parts of eastern DR Congo, has remained undeveloped.
The northern trade corridor directly serves six countries – Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and parts of DR Congo, with 3 of them bordering the northern region thus underscoring it as an importance trade hub. Therefore, one would imagine what it would deliver if there are incentives to make trade better.
Map showing the complete northern trade corridor.
The good news is that this underdevelopment might become a thing for the past if all the ‘set in motion’ trade facilitation projects and other initiatives for this region are completed.
It is expected that before the end of 2022, northern Uganda will have an efficient 24 hours open one-stop-border-post (OSBP) linking Uganda to South Sudan. The region will also have a new and effective metre gauge railway and a modern logistics hub facility.
All these projects are to be developed from a pool of resources raised by the government of Uganda, Trademark East Africa, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and European Union (EU).
In essence, the three pivotal projects mean northern Uganda and the country at large will not be the same in terms of development.
Elegu/Nimule One Stop Border Post (OSBP).
As part of the East African region’s sustained efforts to facilitate trade, over 10 OSBPs have been constructed across East Africa since 2013 with funding from national governments, and the United Kingdom’s DFID through TradeMark East Africa.
An OSBP is a border facility that consolidates border control functions in a shared space for two countries bordering each other thus enabling faster entry and exit of people and cargo.
The latest beneficiaries of this OSBP program are the local community, traders and tourists plying the Elegu/Nimule route.
Construction of the Elegu-Nimule OSBP is underway. The Ugandan side (Elegu) is ready and will be handed over to Uganda Revenue Authority – URA this month.
“As the main gateway into South Sudan from the port of Mombasa, the Elegu-Nimule border post is of strategic importance to the East African region. The border is extremely slow, and Nimule takes an average of four days to process imports,” notes a report from the TradeMark East Africa website.
The statement which also highlights the costs such delays impose on traders, seeks to show why it is important to construct such as facility at Elegu/Nimule.
“These delays can be attributed to inadequate border infrastructure, insufficient quality and quantity of technical equipment, poor border design, and complicated procedures based on centralized control, and multiple border organisations working in isolation,” the report further says.
Different surveys conducted since the OSBP concept was rolled out in the region indicate that the average border crossing time for cargo trucks and travellers has at select borders reduced by between 30 and 90 per cent, significantly prevented harassment of cross border traders by officials and reduced corruption at the borders.
Therefore, it is expected that on completion and consequent commissioning, the Elegu/Nimule OSBP will contribute to the ‘ease of doing business in the region’ by delivering similar benefits like the other OSBPs are doing at other entry and exit points.
Ms Damali Ssali, the Ag. Country Director TradeMark East Africa, Uganda addressing the media at a recent press briefing.
In a recent interview, Ms Damali Ssali, the Ag. Country Director TradeMark East Africa, Uganda confirmed that the Elegu border (Uganda side of the OSBP) was complete with a technical handover slated for 15th November 2018 while works in Nimule (South Sudan side of the OSBP) had stalled following recurrence of pockets of instability in the area.
“Elegu border construction has been completed. The building will be handed over to the Uganda Revenue Authority which is the lead agency at the border in November. For Nimule, due to the crisis is South Sudan, construction of the refugee reception area is underway. When peace returns in South Sudan, and funding is available, the Nimule border will be fully constructed,” Ms Ssali noted.
Tororo-Gulu Railway.
On October 17, 2018, the EU accepted to finance the rehabilitation of the over 400kms Tororo-Gulu metre gauge railway.
The works are expected to start before the end of this year and will be completed before or by 2022.
The railway line has been out of service since 1993 due to neglect and the prolonged LRA war in northern Uganda.
As part of this commitment, the EU has agreed to disburse a grant of EUR 21.5 million (about UGX 93 billion) from the European Development Fund (EDF) while the Government of Uganda will contribute counterpart funding equivalent to EUR 13.1 million (about UGX 60 billion) towards the rehabilitation of this key transport infrastructure in the region.
European Union Team Leader Ambassador Attilio Pacific and Minister of Finance – Hon Matia Kasaija exchange files after signing the Tororo-Gulu Railway Revival Grant.
“We are proud to support the Government of Uganda’s decision to revitalise this crucial economic link,” EU Head of Delegation to Uganda, HE Ambassador Attilio Pacifici said, noting that this project was part of the many actions taken by the European Union to support northern Uganda.
Such actions include the recently launched EURs 150 million Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) as well as the provision of humanitarian assistance to refugees and support to the host communities.
Honourable Matia Kasaija, the Finance minister noted that the Tororo-Gulu metre gauge railway rehabilitation project is important for trade facilitation for Uganda and “will open up northern Uganda, parts of DR Congo and South Sudan in terms of freight.”
During its days of service, the Tororo-Gulu railway line was a crucial economic facility along the East African Northern Trade Corridor linking the port of Mombasa and eastern Uganda to northern Uganda, as well as to South Sudan and DR Congo. It is expected that it will serve the same purpose or much more once it is completed.
Furthermore, the planned revamp of the Tororo-Gulu railway is timely considering that the realisation of Uganda’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) dream may take longer than earlier anticipated. This sad reality comes at the back of China’s delayed approval of finances for the construction of the Kenya Kisumu to Malaba SGR line which is a must if Uganda is to make any progress.
The unfortunate development was revealed by Hon Matia Kasaija who recently told Daily Monitor, a local newspaper that government has ‘put on hold’ the SGR venture and has instead turned attention to revamping the old metre-gauge railway network until unresolved issues with Kenya and China have been concluded.
“It is apparent the SGR is going to take us a lot of time to complete. First, we have to wait for Kenya to reach at the Malaba [border] point then we can start,” Mr Kasaija noted.
But in a quick rejoinder, Hon Monica Azuba Ntege, the minister of works and transport noted that reports appearing in a cross section of the media alleging that Uganda had abandoned the SGR project were false and unfounded.
Hon Azuba noted that Uganda was firmly committed to the project and had already awarded a consultancy and construction tender for the same. She added that the country was now making steps towards signing a loan agreement with Exim Bank of China before rolling out the project.
Minister of Works & Transport, Hon Monica Azuba Ntege monitoring SGR alignment in Malaba where Uganda & Kenya SGR will interchange.
“Some 90 per cent of cargo comes to Uganda by road and this has really increased our road maintenance costs which we know shall come down drastically once the SGR is in place therefore we cannot afford to abandon the project,” Hon Azuba said as quoted by Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper.
But as it stands, the realization of either one or both projects works well for country.
Gulu Logistics Hub.
Jointly funded by EU, Government of Uganda and DFID through TradeMark East Africa to a tune of USD 8.8 million; works on the over the 22-acres Gulu Logistics facility are scheduled to start in January 2019 and will be completed by 2021.
On completion, this freight and logistics facility will have a spacious container yard, container freight station (CFS), container cleaning and repair station, a vehicle holding section, an access road connecting the hub to the main road and an administration complex.
Photo impression of the proposed Gulu Logistics Hub.
The Gulu Logistics hub will also have a railway sub-station; directly connected to the Tororo-Gulu metre gauge line, which will receive and dispatch in and outbound trains in addition to having sufficient space for loading and unloading wagons.
Important to note, since the end of the war in northern Uganda and the return of relative stability in South Sudan and eastern DR Congo, Uganda has been playing a vital role as a distribution hub for the two areas.
A team from TradeMark East Africa standing next to where the Gulu Logistics Hub will be connected to the Tororo-Gulu Railway. This will enable trains to directly access the logistics hub for loading and offloading purposes.
According to a World Bank study – Uganda Diagnostic Trade Integration Study – importers in South Sudan and DRC keep supplies in bonded facilities in Kampala before bringing them into either country as and when needed.
However, with the assurances of shorter lead times, Uganda has seen transit volumes grow, which has led to the emergence of a distribution industry especially in Jinja and Kampala.
Nonetheless, the over dependence on Kampala and Jinja distribution hubs which sit some 334kms and 388kms away from Gulu respectively and sometimes opting for goods moving from as far as Mombasa Port directly to northern Uganda, South Sudan or eastern DR Congo, continues to have its own shortfalls.
Key among these is supply shortage and scarcity caused by delayed deliveries and accidents occasioned by fatigued cargo drivers.
Therefore, the construction and consequent ‘operationalisation’ of the Gulu Logistics Hub is expected to address these issues that continue to hamper the seamless distribution of cargo in northern Uganda, South Sudan, and parts of DR Congo.
While addressing delegates at the September 2018 Global Logistics Convention in Kampala at Sheraton Hotel, Mr Adrian Green, the Head of Growth and Economic Management at UKAid, described the logistics sector as the fuel that drives economic growth and committed on behalf of development partners to continue supporting it.
Adrian Green, Head of Growth and Economic Management at UKAid
“Sustainable development is directly linked to how the logistics sector facilitates trade. Perhaps for too long, development partners have over looked this and focussed on rural development and ignored that we need to focus as well on logistics and transportation. As development partners, we recognise the critical importance of this sector and would like to help address the key challenges it faces,” Adrian Green said.
To employ Hundreds and benefit Millions.
At the construction stage, these projects are expected to employee at-least 5000 people including over 80 per cent local residents while after completion they will directly and indirectly benefit millions.
Uganda’s 2014 population census showed that the northern region had about 7.2 million people. South Sudan has a population of about 15.6 million people while Eastern DR Congo has more than 5 million people.
Gulu Logistics Hub (GLH) implementing partners after a successful site visit & community engagements on 25th September, 2018.
According to Ms Damali Ssali, the infrastructure projects that are being implemented in northern Uganda will further cement Uganda’s status as a distribution hub owing to its natural geographical location.
“Uganda’s economic development is premised on increased exports and job creation. Northern Uganda is a gateway to Uganda’s export and re-exports to markets in South Sudan, DRC, Central African Republic and North Western Kenya. Therefore opening up this trade route with key trade facilitation infrastructure does not only catalyst the creation of jobs (through exports if products manufactured and/or cultivated in northern Uganda) but also re-exports.”
DINU makes the projections even more interesting.
The implementation of these projects gels well with the over 150 million EURs ‘Development Initiative for Northern Uganda’ (DINU); a government of Uganda integrated programme that is being implemented in over 33 districts of Acholi, Karamoja, Lango, Teso and West Nile for a duration of six years (2017-2023).
Supervised by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), DINU is financed by Government of Uganda (11.954 million EURs), EU (132.8 million EURs), DFID (2.67 Mio EUR), the Federal Republic of Germany (1.8 million EURs), UNCDF (0.352 million EURs) and UNICEF (1.056 million EURs).
To the people of northern Uganda, these developments are a welcome relief that will partly heal decades of suffering and perceived neglect.
“The future looks bright for us. We have been told that much of the funding for these projects has already been secured. We are optimistic that after the dark days, our region is picking up and many of us will get employed. We can only wait and see,” Carol Adokorach, a resident of Gulu district said.
Further, expectations are high at all levels that these projects combined will not only improve the efficiency of Uganda’s trade but also attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).
It remains to be seen how much an impact these projects will have on communities in this region. However, for now, northern Uganda can toss to greater times ahead.
Kampala, Uganda. 17th Sept 2018. The 2018 Global Logistics Convention, under the theme ‘Freight Logistics: The Edge to Competitiveness’ is currently underway at Kampala Sheraton Hotel, hosted by Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) in partnership with the National Logistics Platform and the Ministry of Works and Transport.
While opening the Global Logistics Convention, Hon Monica Azuba Ntege, the Minister of Works and Transport highlighted government’s commitment to developing the logistics industry noting that this is showcased by the transport infrastructure diversification approach taken by government that covers road, railway, air and water.
“In order to overcome the supply chain bottlenecks associated with over-reliance on the Northern Corridor, Government is developing the Southern – route ( Central Corridor) via Water Transport from Port Bell to Mwanza Port in Tanzania. A new port at Bukasa is being developed which will also provide faster and cheaper means of transport directly by ship to Musoma or Mwanza in Tanzania and then by land to Dar es Salam or Tanga at the Indian Ocean. This project is set to be completed in 2020,” Hon Azuba said, adding;
“The National Airline is being revived. A new airport is also being developed at Kabaale in Hoima District. The objective is to increase Uganda’s competitiveness by reducing the cost of air transport and ease connectivity to and from Uganda, with the intention of leveraging opportunities in the tourism, agriculture, minerals, and oil and gas sectors.”
Adrian Green, Head of Growth and Economic Management at UKAid
In his remarks, Adrian Green, Head of Growth and Economic Management at UKAid underscored the critical role the logistics sector plays, describing it as the fuel that drives economic growth.
“Sustainable development is directly linked to how the logistics sector facilitates trade. Perhaps for too long, development partners have over looked this and focussed on rural development and ignored that we need to focus as well on logistics and transportation. As development partners, we recognise the critical importance of this sector and would like to help address the key challenges in this sector,” Adrian Green said.
The Convention, sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID) through TradeMark East Africa is bringing together over five hundred (500) participants from Uganda and abroad.
The event is offering participants a unique opportunity to share best practice in trade and policy, to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, and to redefine, the changing roles, responsibilities and emerging trends in the development of Transport and Trade Logistics as a driver for productivity and competitiveness.
Patrick Bitature, the chairman of the private sector foundation of Uganda
In his key note address, Patrick Bitature, the chairman of the private sector foundation of Uganda challenged the private sector players to take lead in transforming the logistics industry because the sector was ripe for change.
“The public sector, politicians are running ahead of the private sector yet it should be the other way round. Time is now for the private sector to take initiative to drive and grow the logistics sector. We must be the game changers.”
Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) in partnership with the National Logistics Platform and the Ministry of Works and Transport is hosting the 2nd edition of the Global Logistics Convention from 17th to 18th September, 2018 at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala under the theme: “Freight Logistics: The Edge to Competitiveness”
The Convention, sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID) through TradeMark East Africa will bring together over five hundred (500) participants from across the world who will include Logisticians, Finance Institutions, Insurance firms, Manufacturers and Traders, Truck and Equipment dealers, Government officials, Civil Society Organizations, Development Partners, Academicians, and other private sector stakeholders from all over the region.
The event offers a unique opportunity to share best practice in trade and policy, to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, and to redefine, the changing roles, responsibilities and emerging trends in the development of Transport and Trade Logistics as a driver for productivity and competitiveness.
The Convention will include a cocktail of tailor-made activities such as key note presentations, motivational talks, conferences, stimulating discussions, sharing sessions, exhibitions, media engagements and networking events which will be facilitated by experts in the sector, government officials and development partners from within and beyond the region.
Gideon Badagawa – the executive director Private Sector Foundation Uganda.
“If we are efficient in transport and Uganda being where it is today – Land linked and in the middle of the regional market, and link very well, then we can create and benefit from several opportunities. Competitivenes is about efficiency and productivity. We need to know; what are the opportunities? What are the challenges? This is what we must focus on. I thank the Government of Uganda , TradeMark and all partners for work done so far”. Gideon Badagawa, the Executive Director Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) said at the pre-convention press conference held today – 11th September at Sheration Hotel, Kampala.
At the same event, Hussien K, Kiddedde, the Chairman organizing committee also UFFA chair commented “The conference’s list of speakers was carefully crafted by our team to deliver a wide range of topics in the Logistics industry that stretches across multiple sectors. Their success in creating an agenda with such a rich variety of key discussion points has attracted a number of leading figures and experts travelling from around the world to join us”.
Damali Ssali, the Ag. Uganda Country Director for Trademark East Africa said that the organisation and her partners will continue to provide technical support to the logistics industry in the next three years.
Damali Ssali, the Ag. Uganda Country Director for Trademark East Africa.
“Over the last two years, we provided technical assistance to support the logistics industry develop the private sector logistics strategy. This was more to see that our logistics industry develops a strategy that complements the government policy for example on local content. It’s to ensure that the industry benefits from our upcoming oil and gas economy,” Damali Ssali noted, adding;
“In the next 3 years, our support to the logistics platform and private sector is also going to be in that same direction. We aim to see that we optimise competitiveness and cost effectiveness. We also want to see that the legal framework for the industry is enhanced. In all, we want to see our industry able to compete favourably and also deal with the challenges together. If this is done, we shall be able to compete in huge markets like that of DRC.”
Weighing in on a theme of a wide significance will be industry leaders from Harvard, Singapore,South Africa and UAE. Notable to mention is Issa S. Baluch; founder of Swift Freight International. He has been a Senior Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative of Harvard University and currently serves on the Dean’s Council at Harvard Kennedy School and acts a visiting Chair Professor of other Universities focusing on multimodal transport.
Delegates can also look forward to an insightful series of sessions spotlighting developments and trends centring on The changing global marketplace (integration, connectivity, consumer expectations, multi-sourcing, environment, safety, security, social responsibility, health etc.) and how this is increasingly underpinning the critical role of logistics as an engine of social economic growth and development among others.
Kampala, Uganda: The Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) has a new Governing Council.This council was elected during the Association’s 41st Annual General Meeting, held on Saturday 1st September 2018 at Fairway Hotel in Kampala.
Ms Sarah Kagingo, Managing Director of Soft Power Communications LLC, was elected President and Valerie Oketcho, MTN Uganda’s Communication and Corporate Affairs Manager, Vice President.
Other elected officials are Eddie Oketcho as Secretary General; Sheila Naturinda Deputy Secretary-General; Charles Nsamba, Treasurer; Simon Kasyate, Director, PR and Sumin Namaganda as Director of Programmes.
Alfred Geresom Musamali was retained as Director, Discipline while Kezia Koburungi (KIU) and Roland Ssebuliba (Ndejje University) were elected as the new student representatives.
Ms. Kagingo promises to lead the new Governing Council to pursue statutory recognition, improve media and external stakeholder relations, form strategic alliances with PRAU’s sister associations, champion the formation of a fully functional secretariat and increase membership of the association, among others.
According to the outgoing Acting Secretary General, Stella Nkini Ndiwalana, plans are in place for a smooth transition, to enable the new team start working.
“We have arranged meetings that will be facilitated by the outgoing team to give advice, handover reports and generally induct the new team members into the Governing Council”, said Stella Nkini Ndiwalana.
A handover ceremony is planned for Friday 28th September 2018.
Ms Sarah Kagingo, Managing Director of Soft Power Communications LLC, was elected PRAU President.
“This will be at a special evening event, PRAU Nite, which will also feature keynote speeches from renown businessman Patrick Bitature and Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, Minister of Information and National guidance who doubles as PRAU Patron,” announced Jon Fisher Sekabira, the outgoing Director of Programmes.
The venue for the special PRAU Nite will be announced later.
The Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) is the umbrella public relations body of Uganda having been set up to uplift the standards in and promote the public relations profession in the country. Membership is open to all PR and communications practitioners, business enterprises, SMEs, government bodies, PR agencies, NGO’s, students pursuing PR related courses and in-house PR departments.
From January to end of May 2018, Uganda exported more goods to Kenya, than it imported. This was the first time this has happened since the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) started making trade figures public.
As reported by both Business Daily Africa and Daily Monitor, “Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) put the value of goods Uganda exported at Shs1.1 trillion (Ksh30.21b) in the period to May compared with imports of Shs965b (Ksh26.08b), resulting in a ‘trade surplus for Uganda’, deficit for Kenya of about Shs153b (Ksh4.13b).”
As shared by President Yoweri Museveni; in January, Uganda’s exports to Kenya fetched USD 186m while Uganda paid Kenya USD 96 million for imports. In February, the figures were USD 149m for Uganda Exports and USD 121m for Imports from Kenya. March saw Kenya improve with Uganda getting paid USD 115m while it paid Kenya USD 132m. Then came the month of April and Uganda got USD 131m from exports to Kenya, compared to USD 92m it paid for imports from Kenya. Lastly, in May, Uganda received a cool USD 228m for its exports to Kenya while Kenya got paid USD 132million for its exports to Uganda.
The surge in the Uganda trade receipts came at the back of impressive maize harvests in Uganda versus the lukewarm harvests for the same crop experienced in Kenya. Maize flour ( Ugali) is the most consumed food across Kenya.
That Uganda exported more to Kenya than it imported from there means that our economy is closing both balance of trade and balance of payment deficits.
To a common man, this development means that Ugandan traders and farmers are earning a little more from their trade with Kenya than their Kenyan counterparts.
Infrastructure-wise, a lot has been done and more is being implemented to improve the Uganda-Kenya trade. With support mainly from TradeMark East Africa, and United Kingdom Department for Foreign Investment (DFID); one stop border posts have been built at Busia and Malaba, access roads improved and non-intrusive cargo scanners installed. Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking Systems (RECTs) have been implemented and several Non-Trade Barriers (NTBs) eliminated among other accomplishments. All these are facilitating trade between the two countries.
But have the farmers and traders been either empowered or supported to produce more? Are they able to access cheaper credit to expand their businesses? What is being done to guard them against dishonesty middlemen that buy cheaply and resale expensively?
What policy has been put in place to ensure that Uganda continues to earn more from her trade with Kenya?
Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered to double funding for infrastructure projects in Africa, signalling unrelenting interest on the continent despite criticism of debt enslavement.
In a speech at the start of the Beijing Summit of the Focus on China-Africa Cooperation, President Xi on Monday announced there will be another round of funding worth UGX 225 trillion to go the construction of roads, railways, ports and energy generation projects— all part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
$60 BILLION
The amount means Beijing will be sending an equivalent amount to the one it released three years ago when FOCAC Summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
President Xi argued the money, besides fuelling his pet project of the Belt and Road Initiative, will also help strengthen ties with Africa.
“Anyone who isolates himself on an island has no future,” he said.
“We will fully honour the promises we have made to our African brothers,” Xi said in a speech translated and circulated to African media houses.
The Chinese leader who recently whipped members of the China Communist Party to remove term limits for his tenure, said the money Beijing released in 2015 (Sh6 trillion as well) had already been disbursed on agreed projects or was in the pipeline.
The new $60 billion will be channelled to the countries with diplomatic relations with Beijing, indicating that despite the apolitical stand, there were still strings to attach to the aid and loans.
But President Xi, speaking to African leaders indicated the funding channelled to Africa, mostly as loans and grants, can already speak for itself.
“No one could, out of imagination or assumption, deny the remarkable achievements made in China-Africa cooperation.
“No one can stand in the way or obstruct international efforts to support Africa’s development. China takes as its mission making new and even greater contribution to mankind,” he said.
Beijing says it is will disburse a quarter of this money as grants, another quarts as “interest-free” loans and some Kenya Sh2 trillion as credit lines.
The rest will be channelled as funds to support Chinese imports from Africa, which are often mainly raw materials to fuel Chinese industries.
President Xi, speaking on the backdrop of critics who have cited the mounting loans as dangerous for the continent, argued the FOCAC had shielded Beijing and Africa from “slanders” of the Western world.
But even as he defended Beijing’s role in Africa, President Xi promised a waiver to some of the debts already causing problems to Africa.
The actual details may come out as the summit ends on Wednesday, but President Xi indicated that the exemption will target interest-free loans offered and which were due by December 2018.
Countries considered least developed and poor, heavily indebted, without access to the sea and the small island nations will benefit; as long as they recognise the government of the People’s Republic of China as the only Chinese government.
That means countries like Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria, which have recently borrowed from China, will not benefit.
Accused of taking away from Africa, and sitting on details of financing agreements with Africa, President Xi used the occasion to campaign for global governance reforms which he argued will provide every corner of the world with a chance to voice their concerns.
This may be interpreted as a jab at the US and the turf wars within the World Trade Organisation.
Recently, Beijing and Washington have engaged in trade tariff wars.
“China and Africa can forge a stronger comprehensive and strategic partnership. China promises to engage with Africa on a principle of sincerity and real results. China’s 1.3 billion people and Africa’s 1.2 billion want a shared future.”
FOCAC is an 18-year-old summit that often acts as a conference to share views on the two sides, every three years.
Within this time, trade between Beijing and Africa has risen to Sh17 trillion, nearly 17 times since the summit began, according to China’s Commerce Ministry.
But critics argue it is a one-sided affair: China buying raw materials from Africa and selling back nearly everything from toys and clothes to machinery and technology gadgets.
I am here in two capacities ─ as President of Uganda but also as the current Chairman of the EAC comprising of the countries of Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. Uganda has a population of 40 million people but the EAC countries have a population of 170 million people, with a GDP (by the PPP method) of US$440bn. By 2050, the population of Uganda will be 102 million and that of East Africa will be 878 million. The population of Uganda, like the population of much of the wider EAC, is comprised of two linguistic groups: the Bantu speakers who are part of the wider Niger-Congo group of languages and the Nilo-Saharan group of languages comprised of the Cushitic, Nilotic and Nilo-Hamitic languages. Uganda and East Africa are, actually, the confluence point of these great African groups ─ one emerging from the forests of Central Africa, starting in the Cameroon and the other coming from Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Ethiopian Highlands.
Therefore, the population of the EAC and Uganda has alot of similarities within each cluster but also has alot of linkages between the two clusters.
Uganda and EAC are lucky because we also have the neutral dialect of Swahili which is used in the whole of East Africa, Eastern Congo, Northern Mozambique, Northern Zambia, Northern Malawi and the Comoro Islands.
Uganda and East Africa have huge natural resources in addition to the human resource mentioned above. If you take Uganda alone, she is rich in: fresh water resources (Lakes like Nalubaale-Victoria, Mwitanzigye-Albert, etc and huge rivers like the Nile, the Katoonga, Kafu, the Kagyera, etc); forest resources; agricultural resources; mineral resources such as petroleum and gas, phosphates, iron-ore, vermiculite, copper, cobalt, nickel, tin, tungsten, gold, aluminium clays, lithium and niobium, uranium, etc.
All these could not have been industrially exploited if we had not developed the necessary infrastructure elements (electricity, roads, piped water, ICT backbone, telecommunications, etc). Fortunately, mainly working with our Chinese friends, we are about to add 600mgws and 183mgws to the electricity we already had from the Jinja and Bujagaali dams and scores of other smaller hydro-power houses (Buseruka, Ishasha, Mpanga, Bugoye, Kikagati, etc).
We have worked on many roads and water-supply projects. We are working on modernizing our railway and reviving our Airline.
All this, therefore, offers good investment opportunities. Chinese companies have, indeed, already worked with us on both the elements of infrastructure and the production of industrial goods. Chinese companies have been busy with the roads, the hydro-power stations as well as with factories for ceramics, phosphates, iron-ore, etc. Some of the Chinese companies are active in oil and gas.
Currently, the rate of return on investment in East Africa is 11% However, with the improved supply of electricity and lower transport costs, the rate of return on the investment will go to 15%
As far as people interested in business are concerned, it is good to know that the automobiles on the East African roads are 607,593 and motor-bikes are 842,834. The East Africans consume 991,117,380 million linear metres of textiles, etc., etc. Uganda and East Africa in general are, therefore, good destinations for investments and good markets for finished products and services. When you invest in Uganda or any of the East African countries, you will sell your product or service to the consumers in Uganda, in the EAC, in COMESA, in the CFTA, back to China or to third Party markets such as the USA, EU, India, Japan, etc.
Finally, coming to the Sino-African, Sino-Ugandan relationship, we go back to 1949 when a new China was born under the Communist Party and Chairman Mao Tse Tung. Since that time, China stood with Africa in its anti-colonial struggle. We also stood with China in asserting its rights in the UN.
Even when China was still underdeveloped, she helped East Africa with the Tazara Railway to defeat the blockade of the newly independent Zambia by the Colonial and racist regimes that controlled Southern Africa at that time.
Now that China is the second biggest economy in the World, we are co-operating even more. China has helped us to build the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway line and negotiations are about to be concluded to extend it to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and DRC by, first, implementing the Tororo-Kampala portion. The Chinese parastatals and private sector companies are busy doing infrastructure projects and industrial projects.
The railway company China Road and Bridge Construction is the one that did the Mombasa – Nairobi line.A private company, Chinese Company Guanzhou DongSong Energy Group, is about to complete the industrial facilities of producing steel and phosphate fertilizers at Tororo. A number of Chinese Companies are developing Industrial Parks such as the ones at Kapeeka and Mbale. China does all this without attempts at interfering in the Internal Affairs of African countries which is a bad habit of some other players.
Therefore, the Chinese leaders and people since 1949, have been with us on an equal basis. We all realize the importance of supporting the prosperity of each other. I always say that when I buy a service or a good from somebody, then I am supporting the prosperity of that actor. I am helping him to get money, helping him to create jobs in his country and to expand his tax base. Similarly, when he buys a service or a good from my country, he is supporting our prosperity. He is helping us to get money, to create jobs in our country and to expand our tax-base.
The big population groups of Africa, China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, working together through their leaders and institutions, can do alot to enhance the prosperity of their citizens through trading together and through cross border investments. This would give a new meaning to the concepts of South-South co-operation. With the addition of the huge Russian Federation, a land area of 5.3 million Square miles and a population of 150 million people, through the BRICS organization, this South-South grouping, would create a new and fairer global dispensation. It would no longer be merely South-South Co-operation. It would be South-South-North Co-operation on equal basis. This would be a new phenomenon in the much tormented Globe of the last 500 years, when Imperialism, taking advantage of the internal weaknesses of the different respective areas, became the new tormentor of the World.
The patriotic forces in Africa cannot forget the most welcome phenomenon of the October Revolution of 1917 and how it contributed to the anti-colonial struggle.
We would, then, of course, more easily work with our friends in the EU and the USA on the basis of win-win arrangements, not the win-lose arrangements of the last 500 years. This should not be a problem, with deeper thought; after all 12% of the USA population is African. Moreover, many African countries and the former colonizers can put to good use the historical relations with the British Commonwealth or the French Community. What was previously negative could become much more positive than it has been hitherto.
