Africa-Press – Uganda. President Museveni has banned taxes on timber that is being imported into the country as a raw material.
Mr Museveni was speaking at the closure of the 4th Bi-Annual Private Sector CEO Retreat held at Kiira Motors vehicle plant in Jinja City on Thursday, which drew over 300 delegates, including ministers, senior civil servants and heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Mr James Netalisire, a delegate from Mbale City and vice chairman of Mbale traders association, said the sector was faced with problems, whereby their raw materials (mahogany), which was being imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were being taxed.
“We no longer have trees for mahogany in Uganda; they are simply no longer there. So, we are only utilising from our neighbours in the DRC, but the taxes have been high,” Mr Netalisire, who also deals in furniture and construction, said.
He added: “We have been paying a tax of Sh15,000 on each piece of imported timber from Congo, but it was increased to which later increased to Shs46,000 per piece, but after negotiations it was reduced to Shs26,000 which is still too high for one piece.”
Mr Museveni, however, said: “Nobody should export timber which is unprocessed (wood). If you are a furniture maker, that is what you want (the timber to make the furniture) here, so that if you want to export, you export the furniture, not the timber.
“ . . . When it is coming from Congo, I think that we should consider our Congolese friends to make furniture because they will take our timber claiming it is coming from Congo. Raw materials should come in at zero percent tax, while intermediate materials should come in at 1o percent if we aren’t making it ourselves.”
Mr Museveni tasked Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabanja to get in touch with Chinese investors who are going to set up two cement factories at Nadunget near the Moroto airfield, adding that the investor wants a dedicated powerline and better murram road.
The retreat, held under the theme “Uganda’s industrialisation agenda: Positioning Uganda as a net source of E-Mobility in Africa”, was organised by the Presidential CEO Forum (PCF).
The PCF is a platform that was initiated by President Museveni to bring together the private sector to work with the government in strategic interventions, including value addition. Other partners include; the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Kiira Motors, National Planning Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Finance.
Ms Barbara Mulwana, the chairperson of the PCF, said it was started to set up awareness and drive the E-mobility, saying the two-day deliberations will pave way forward for backward linkages.
“It is okay to start from a low base and it doesn’t need to take 20 years for Uganda to have an opportunity (for E-Mobility). We want job creation but NPA has assessed that we don’t have 80 percent of people to take on these types of jobs,” Ms Mulwana said.
She added: “To build the industry, we should have people to run these businesses and there should be linkages between universities and the private sector to push E-Mobility.”
Ms Mulwana further tasked the government to reduce the power tariffs to at least $5 cents per unit in order to drive the E-Mobility agenda after it was revealed that the only car charging station is in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb.
However, Ms Nabanja said gradual steps are being taken to reach that cost per unit.
In a rejoinder, Mr Museveni said the price of electricity was caused by “past mistakes done behind his back”.
Mr Edward T. Hightower, one of the keynote speakers, who is also an accomplished global automotive engineering, business executive and CEO Lordstown Motors based in the United States, said when one builds a motor vehicle assembly plant, it becomes a magnate for the supply chain.
“Despite Covid-19 disruptions, 97 million cars were built, with only 1.2 million (cars) being built in the African continent,” Mr Hightower, said.
In the United States, Mr Hightower added, on average, there is one vehicle for each person, but in Africa, “it’s probably 44 vehicles for 1,000 people”, adding that data suggests 13 vehicles for each 1,000 Ugandans and among other East African Community (EAC) states.
Companies were awarded for their efforts to drive the value addition agenda, including Mutuma Commercial Agencies in Luuka District, Steel and Tube, and Tembo Steels, with plants in Iganga and Buikwe Districts, among others.
Mr Mwesigye, the CEO Mutuma Commercial Agencies, called for the need to expand and be able to satisfy Uganda’s market by tapping into the East African and regional market. He, however, said such expansion requires adequate capital to procure more machinery.
He cited the importation of substandard and poor quality cotton wool into the market, which he says makes it difficult for them to compete yet they have invested heavily in producing quality cotton wool.
On the flip side, Mr Mwesigye noted that they have conquered Uganda’s market through National Medical Stores (NMS), which procures medicines and medical supplies on behalf of the government.
Mr Mwesigye further pointed out the importation of animal feeds, especially concentrates, which he says has made it difficult for them to sell cotton seed cake that is highly nutritious for animals and poultry.
Mr Ian Rumanyika, the head of external affairs at Uganda Baati Ltd, told Daily Monitor on the sidelines of the retreat that the issue affecting the steel sector is the intermittent policy changes. He cited the wire rods, which he said were under duty remission, but has been reversed within two weeks of the current Financial Year.
“We have no problem in supporting local capacity but the issue is with intermittent policy changes. We need the government to consult highly before a policy change is made so that all sector players are in agreement,” Mr Rumanyika said, warning that having one big player swing policy to his side can affect the sector.
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