PSFU Newsletter
February 2016
Mission: To Strengthen Private Sector Capacity for Effective Policy Advocacy & Market Competitiveness
PSFU HOLDS SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP ON EAC SINGLE CUSTOMS TERRITORY AND
CUSTOMS TRADE FACILITATION FOR TRADE FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN MALABA
Participants at the Sanitation Workshop
Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) held a sensitization workshop for the business community in
Malaba. The purpose of the workshop was to sensitize the business people about the EAC Single
Customs Territory and Customs Trade Facilitation for Trade. It was also organized to enable PSFU learn
from the business people the challenges affecting business in the area. The workshop took place on 8th
February 2016 at Port Springs Villas 2000 Ltd in Malaba.
The workshop was attended by various stakeholders including members of Uganda Clearing Industry
and Forwarding Association (UCIFA), Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA), Cross Border
Traders Association, logistics sector representatives, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS),
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and
various business people including traders among others.
Mr. Byaruhanga Lincoln Customs Officer from the Single Customs Territory Liaison Office in Nakawa
sensitized the business people about Single Customs Territory, its importance and how they would
benefit from the initiative. He informed the participants that some of the benefits of the Single Customs
Territory include:
 Pre-arrival information
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Reduced cost of doing business
Single Customs Declaration from 4 -6 to 1 custom declaration
Single Customs Declaration for Bulk consignments (fuel, wheat, edible oil among others)
No need for several guarantee bonds and cash bonds
Electronic transmission of data on real time basis
Reduced clearance time 4-6 days from 18-22 days, Western Kenya 8-14 hours from 3-6 days
Improved turnaround times for transporters; 1 round trip to at least 3 round trips/month.
Improved working relationships among Revenue Authorities and Related Regional Agencies for
faster decision making.
He also noted that there were still some challenges in the system which include; system interference,
financial constraints and change management for the related stakeholders.
Mr. Byaruhanga called on the business people in Malaba to take advantage of the Single Customs
Territory (SCT) to enable them benefit from the available business opportunities.
During the interaction, the business people noted some challenges so far faced on the Single Customs
Territory initiative. They include:
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Lack/ limited access to other systems in the region (i.e. SIMBA among others)
Lack / limited capacity by the business people to use the systems; Single Customs Territory,
SIMBA and ASCUDA World
Lack of enough staff at the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Customs offices in Mombasa
causing un necessary delays.
Lack of enough capacity for the URA staff to handle the systems.
Poor working relationship between the regional counter parts.
Some of the suggested solutions included:
 Organise for Training of Trainers on the Single Customs Territory initiative for the Members of
Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association (UCIFA), Uganda Freight Forwarders
Association (UFFA) and the Cross Border Traders Association as well as other business people in
the logistics sector.
 Organise regular meetings for the members of UCIFA and others with the URA officials in the
region.
 Government should help improve on the relationship between the Ugandan Business people
and those of other countries.
 Recommended for refresher trainings for the URA officials under customs to enable them to
effectively handle the assignments ahead of them.
 Participants requested for more staff of URA at the customs office for faster clearance of the
goods.
 PSFU should work with URA and UCIFA to organize for more similar sensitization workshops.
 Participants requested for continuous stakeholder consultations and engagements
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Mr. Moses Ogwal Director Policy Advocacy PSFU called on the business people in Malaba to be more
aggressive despite the challenges to enable them benefit from the Single Customs Territory (SCT).
Members expressed their appreciation to Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Trade Mark East
Africa (TMEA) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for organizing the sensitization workshop and
recommended for more engagements.
Mr. Moses Ogwal Director Policy Advocacy at the workshop and above is one of the participants making a
contribution.
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PSFU AWARDS BEST PERFORMING ASSOCIATIONS AND CORPORATE COMPANIES
Ms. Christina Malmberg Calvo Country Manager World Bank Uganda Guest of Honor
Private Sector Foundation Uganda has awarded the best performing Business Associations, Corporate
Companies and Government Agencies that are playing a critical role in the development of the Private
Sector in Uganda. The focus on Business Associations is envisaged on the role they have played in
nurturing small and medium business enterprises in Uganda through collaborations where small firms
can achieve competitive advantage and also gain access to the necessary resources for business start
ups, growth and success.
PSFU also recognized corporate companies who through their innovative Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) approaches have championed investment in young children which is critical in human resource
development and national competitiveness for Uganda’s future.
For the first time PSFU also recognized the best performing Government Agencies of the year that
have offered innovative programs or improved its services and efficiency in supporting the private
sector in Uganda.
Mr. Patrick Bitature Chairman PSFU called on the business community to put their hands together and
do meaningful businesses. He noted that, in order to achieve this, the business people need to be well
organized, efficient and cost effective without leaving behind value addition. He also called on them to
ensure quality control, maintain books of accounts, practice good corporate governance, public relations
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and aggressive marketing and pay taxes as well. This would enable them become more competitive on
the global market.
The event was attended by various stakeholders including, members of the private sector, corporate
bodies, Government, Development partners among others.
The Guest of Honor Ms. Christina Malmberg Calvo Country Manager World Bank Uganda thanked PSFU
for the excellent partnership with World Bank over the last 20 years and for recognizing the outstanding
Government agencies of the year. She noted that this initiative is critical and would play a big role in
ensuring competitiveness. The outstanding Government agencies included: Uganda National Bureau of
Standards (UNBS), Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) and Uganda Investment Authority (UIA).
Winners in a group photo with various delegates at the award ceremony.
Table showing the winners per category
Category
Winner
Business Association Uganda Insurers Association
of the Year
(UIA)
Business Champion
for Young Children
Rural Association of
the Year
Government Agency
of the Year
o
Standard Chartered Bank
(SCT)
o Century Bottling
Company Ltd
National Union of Coffee
Agribusiness and Enterprises
Ltd
Uganda National Bureau of
Standards (UNBS)
1st Runner Up
Association of
Tour Operators
(AUTO)
Airtel Uganda
2nd Runner Up
Uganda Crane Creameries
Corporative Union (UCCU)
Adyaka Rural
Youth
Development
Association
Uganda
Investment
Authority (UIA)
Hope Development
Initiative Cooperative
Society
Uganda Registration
Services Bureau (URSB)
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EAC INTEGRATION; SINGLE CUSTOMS TERRITORY SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP, LIRA
Following a scoping exercise conducted by the PSFU as Uganda’s apex body for the private sector and
focal point for private sector advocacy as well as capacity building and continuous sustenance towards a
positive dialogue with Government on behalf of the private sector, PSFU with support from Trade Mark
East Africa (TMEA) organised a sensitization meeting for the business community on the EAC- Single
Customs Territory and Initiatives under Northern Corridor Implementation Project. The meeting focused
on how best business linkages between large producers/ manufacturers can benefit smaller producers in
a value chain so as to take advantage of the business opportunities in the export and regional trade
market. The meeting was conducted on the 1st February in Lira where over 70 participants were present.
They included among others: Farmers, Traders, Business Men, Saloon Operators, Mukwano Group
among others.
Participants were informed about the opportunities available with the East African Community (EAC) as
a bloc market.
During the meeting, participants also looked at a number of challenges faced by business people in the
region (i.e. lack of market information). The participants made the following suggestions.
 Start sector specific consultative groups/ fellowships to enable them effectively participate in
the value chain with leading companies like Mukwano.
 Organise more sensitisation workshops in the following areas; Financial Literacy, Tax Education,
Business Management and proper record keeping, Good Governance among others.
IMPACT STORY:
ROLE OF PSFU IN BOASTING THE TOURISM SECTOR
Years ago, Mr. Amos Wekesa, the proprietor
of Great Lakes Safaris, was invited to speak
at an event organized by a PSFU member
association. That marked the beginning of a
great relationship with the umbrella body of
the private sector. Later, his company got
support
underthe
Business
Uganda
Development Scheme (BUDS) to do
marketing for the tourism industry.
“Because of the accountability i presented
for every shilling and what we were doing, I
was later asked to sit on the board –
becoming the youngest member,” says
Wekesa. “I think it was a great opportunity
to work with the PSFU Board.
Mr. Amos Wekesa Great Lakes Safaris
Being so young, Wekesa says it felt a little unusual being a board member of PSFU. “It was interesting
for a young man to sit with the big boys – rich men who had all the money. It was a great learning
experience. You see if you want to grow as an individual, you need people to look up to people you want
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to be like. Much as they were in a different sector, most of the principles of business are pretty the same.
So I got to see how rich people think because whatever we become starts with how we think. It meant
that I had to be humble, it matured me and also gave me a platform to showcase my abilities. I was able
to clearly express myself for people to see my abilities. In life, the number one thing you need is to
acquire skills, two, you need the right networks to apply those skills. I had acquired the skills, but PSFU
helped me to get enough networks, which networks gave me the third thing – resources. If you have
skills, the networks and then resources then you have an influence.”
Over the years, Wekesa has been grateful for the support the tourism sector has received from PSFU
under the Business Uganda Development Scheme (BUDS). He says the PSFU leadership has embraced
tourism and has been very keen on understanding the challenges of the tourism industry. “Over the
years whenever PSFU went to negotiate with Government officials about private sector issues, they
would invite me to make a presentation on tourism and that showed the interest they had in the sector
and of its trickle down effects in the way it affects all the sectors of the economy. When tourists come
they consume manufactured products, they eat, they use airtime, they use transporters so every sector
is a beneficiary. But also they understood that it can help us in the balancing of the trade as a source of
foreign exchange,” he says.
Overall, he is in no doubt about PSFU’s achievements over years. The most important achievement is
bridging the gap between the private sector and the political class. Many of their proposals are taken up
the government in the national budget. That advocacy role is a big achievement,” he says. On whether
the government has played its part, Wekesa suggests that it is both a yes and no. He says a lot of focus is
going into infrastructure, which is a big positive. And not just in terms of roads. As a tour guide in 1999,
he says he knows that there was no telephone network in any of Uganda’s national parks. Today, you
can access phone services and the internet from anywhere and that is very important for tourists as they
are able to communicate to their followers anywhere in the world while in the national park.
Also, the idea of improving the airports is great. For instance, the proposed Kasese Airport is a welcome
development for the tourism industry because it’s close to Semuliki National Park, Queen Elizabeth
National Park and Rwenzori National Park. It’s only two hours away from Kibaale National Park and
three and a half hours from Bwindi. “That is going to make tourism easier,” he says adding that the
reason Arusha Airport has four million arrivals a year and Entebbe has 1.3 million is because it is near
the national park. “I am sure with a good airport, we will see tourists landing there directly instead of
passing through Entebbe,” he says. The other factor is security because insecurity and tourism just can’t
co-exist.
But the challenges are also there. “I think one of the biggest challenges in Uganda is that we have so
many priorities; everything seems to be a priority – and the bigger emphasis is on consumptive
priorities. Before you spend you must earn. It is important that Government focuses on sectors where
we have a lot of competencies and tourism and agriculture are some of them. We can be a food basket.
We can become a logistical centre where people from around the region can come for goods. You will
be shocked at how far we can go as a country. The government must understand that Namugongo
should be like Israel for example. We should have a million people every week converging to
Namugongo every month not just for one day event in the year,” he says.
And ideally, he says the tourism sector should have been a driver of investment in Uganda if Uganda
didn’t have the “wrong education system.”
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“Unfortunately we have the wrong education system – we study about the prairies, Hitler etc. If you
study about the Prairies, you must be able to apply it; it must be relevant. This education system was
introduced by the British and the same British abandoned it in 1967 and for us we are still holding onto
it. It forces us to focus on what is outside, not what is inside, which would help us develop. Our
education system should help us appreciate what we have in Uganda – our culture, our food, the
weather. If you do that then you are appreciating tourism,” he says.
Over the years, Wekesa has built a reputation for being one of Uganda’s leading ambassadors. Asked
what drives him, Wekesa went philosophical. “I still strongly believe that it is citizens of a nation that
have the responsibility of their nation. We are competing as nationals and a country that has a critical
mass of patriotic citizens who understand the value of national branding goes ahead of other countries.”
He says. “Secondly, without Uganda being well, I can’t be well. A country is as good as it’s perceived. The
world is ruled by perceptions. So we must create the right perception for this country. There is too much
negativity among Ugandans and that has curtailed our opportunities as a country. We can change it if
we believe in our country, and my role is to ensure that Ugandans and foreigners believe in this
country.”
Indeed, he warns that foreigners will never believe in Uganda until the citizens believe in it. “If you
anticipate a good future, you participate in forming it and lots of Ugandans don’t anticipate a great
future and it’s understandable given that we lived many years in instability,” he adds. “But I have been
blessed to travel around the world and when I see what we have here – great weather, great food, the
source of the longest river in the world, fertile land, great cultures, the largest collection of bird species,
mountains and more inland water bodies than any other country in Africa – I mean if you don’t
appreciate that then you are in big trouble.”
He tells an interesting story about how he got Patrick Kluivert, the former Barcelona FC player to visit
Uganda. When they talked on phone for the first time, all Kluivert knew about Uganda was Idi Amin and
how he feared that Ugandans were a savage people. “I told him about all the nice things about Uganda.
Two weeks later, he had arrived at Entebbe. He couldn’t believe when he saw the beauty that I showed
him on my Ipad. By the time he left, he was singing about the quality of our food and all the other
things.
As a person who is familiar with the situation in other countries, Wekesa says Ugandans still have a lot
to learn from them. In Kenya for instance, the private sector is so strong that it determines the politics
of their country. “They have formed a project called ‘Kenya’ despite their political fights. They will
defend Kenya with all their might. For instance when CNN woke up to claim that the country was a
hotspot for terrorism, Kenyans mobilized themselves against CNN to the extent that the vice president
of CNN came to apologise. They know what the bad image would kill their opportunities regardless of
their political affiliations,” he says. The other challenge, he adds, is that we don’t have a critical mass of
successful role models in business and the young people that are starting out have very few people to
learn from.
How are we grooming the 30-year olds to take over from us? Uganda is going to have trouble in future if
we don’t do something given that 70% of the population below 30 years,” he says, adding that he will
forever be grateful for what PSFU has done for the tourism industry. “I am always willing to offer my
time and I am also looking forward to learning more from PSFU going forward,” he says.
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----------------------------------------------------------------For details contact: Executive Director or Manager Public Relations
Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Plot 43, Nakasero Hill Road, P.O Box 7683 Kampala, Uganda,
Tel:[+256] 0312 263850, 0312 263849, Email: [email protected] , Website: www.psfuganda.org.ug
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