Amelia Kyambadde

The minister of trade and cooperatives Amelia Kyambadde has urged local investors to stop investing all their money in arcades and malls but to create more employment for the young generation. Kyambadde said this while welcoming the minister of state for trade Micheal Werikhe and the minister of state for cooperatives Frederick Gume to the ministry of trade, industry and cooperatives

Kyambadde says that almost every investor is investing is starting up an arcade, noting that they can make more money if they start up even factories to earn money in dollars when they export.

Kyambadde says that most of the buildings in town are empty and their owners are making loses which has forced some of them to begin charging their rent in dollars. She says that the ministry of trade is devising means to ensure that land lords collect their rent in the Uganda shillings.

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Local investors in Uganda have been asked to embrace private equity financing and venture capital as alternative to  stimulate the slowing Uganda’s economy. The advise come at the time when Uganda’s economy is struggling to recover from election fever.

According to the executive director Uganda Investment Authority Dr Frank Ssebowa, many local investors are running to banks to acquire loans to jump-start their business at a very high interest rate, which has contributed to high rate of none performing loans and slow growth for small business enterprises in Uganda. He said that it’s time for Ugandans to consider alternative funding away from risky loans, and establishing partnerships through  Private equity. Ssebowa was speaking ahead of the Annual Uganda investment week slated for 23rd-24th June at Serena hotel.

Meanwhile the  chairman Private sector foundation Patrick asked Ugandans to forget election fever and concentrate to redeeming the country’s economy which is seemingly slowing down. In the pre-election period, many investments were put on halt in the anticipation of post-election violence, hence impacting negatively on the economic growth of this country in the short run. Bitature said that business people in Uganda need to wake up and revitalize their business linkage or they risk losing out. He said that many businesses in Uganda are shrinking especially manufacturing industries and service sector  which calls for key actors to wake up  and take swift measures before losing it all.

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Second hand clothes. Photo credit: thecultureist.com

Youths Under their umbrella Organization Worldwide African Congress has petitioned parliament asking it to pass to bill entitled “Made in Africa Bill 2015” to ban the importation of secondhand underwear and bras.

The youths who have displayed the secondhand underwear at Parliament say that they want a law that will prohibit the sale and exportation of secondhand underwears, knickers, brassieres, vests and night dresses which they say poses serious health hazards on Ugandans.

Addressing Journalists shortly after submitting the petition to the clerk to parliament Jane Kibirige, the Chairperson of World Wide Africa Congress, Mayambala Wa-Africa, said that Ugandans should wake up and reject second hand imports.

The youth expressed their sadness over government’s continued suffocation of the local industries that would have manufactured such simple products for Ugandans and also employ the youths. They said that the government has implemented many laws and policies to boost foreign investors who are given tax-free holiday package while neglecting local manufacturers here in Uganda.

They said they wanted the Minister of Trade and Industry to resign from office if local companies are not granted fair opportunities in government programs in the sector of investment.

Mayambala said local companies in Uganda lose dignity if they cannot even manufacture matchboxes, toothpicks, needles, and razorblades; adding that it’s more degrading if Uganda cannot even manufacture simple underwear and our people, have to use second hand underwear that white people have worn-out and deem unfit to wear.

If their petition is heard Uganda will join countries like Ghana that impletmented such a law where market traders were banned from selling second-hand underwear because, according to Ghana Standards Board, used pants – and other second-hand goods like handkerchiefs and mattresses – are unhygienic and could pose a health hazard.

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