The heads of the corporate sectors in South Africa and Uganda have urged the two governments to collaborate to eliminate all non-tariff trade constraints, including travel visa requirements.
According to data that is currently accessible, South Africa sells to Uganda commodities valued at billions of dollars whereas Uganda only sends a few hundred million dollars worth of goods to the south.
At the outset of the Uganda South Africa Trade and Investment Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Ebenezer Asante, Senior Vice President of MTN Group, announced the challenge and praised the private sector’s fortitude in the face of recent economic hardships.
In order to fully benefit the people from his country’s investments in Uganda and create “the Uganda we want,” Asante urged the government to improve the business climate. He also noted that the populace had contributed by demonstrating a desire to work hard.
Commercial banking, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, and transportation are just a few of the industries that South Africa has invested in in Uganda.
The head of the Presidential Advisory Committee for Exports and Industrial Development, Odrek Rwabwogo, expressed worry over the lack of implementation of agreements made at a previous summit in South Africa, including the establishment of a mobile phone plant.
He said that it was time for the two nations to get rid of any obstacles standing in the way of an easy exchange of assets.
He questioned, for instance, why Uganda, which already has all of the coffee it requires, continues to buy the good from abroad despite being a net importer and a high coffee consumer nation.
Commercial farmer Rwabwogo in Uganda accused the South African government of holding up the appointment of a trade agent there in order to allay trade worries.
Regarding the role that Uganda has so far played, Rwabwogo disclosed that the nation had set up 350 million dollars (about 1.3 trillion shillings) for a fund to boost trade and investment with South Africa.
Paul Amoru, Uganda’s High Commissioner to South Africa and Southern African states, reiterated Ugandans’ concerns and urged a swift conclusion to visa-free travel between the two nations.
Approximately 1 million Ugandans are presently living in southern Africa, according to the embassy.
In a few months, a thorough solution should be found and announced to the parties involved, according to Ambassador Amoru.
Lulama Xinguana, South Africa’s High Commissioner to Kampala, responded to worries about travel restrictions by saying there was no reason to be alarmed about the lack of a travel visa agreement.
She acknowledged that obtaining a visa can be challenging for those looking for work possibilities in South Africa, but not for businesspeople.
She claimed that the embassy easily grants visas on the basis of evidence from a corporation intending to export to or invest in the nation, and that some have been given long-term multiple visas allowing them to conduct business freely.
She disclosed that the Department of Home Affairs representatives had been in Uganda for four days to discuss visa requirements with representatives of the Ugandan ministry of internal affairs.
Ugandans were informed by Ambassador Xinguana that her nation is prepared to import coffee and other agricultural products from Uganda.
Meeting the sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, nevertheless, will be difficult because the nation still places a high priority on plant and animal health.
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa asked the nations to investigate why his nation’s investments in Uganda had decreased by more than half to just 32 in just two years.
Nomalungelo Gina, the deputy minister for commerce, industry, and economic development, told the summit that despite a little increase in exports from Uganda, overall trade had decreased, particularly export revenues to Uganda.
A research conducted after Ramaphosa’s call, according to Rwabwogo, concluded that among other things, the expense of logistics and transport, Ugandan businesses’ failure to maintain raw material supplies, and the unreliability of internet services were deterring investments.
