UIA to publish regional investment guide book

David Muwanga

Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is joining the East African Community (EAC) secretariat and other investment promotion agencies in the region to publish a regional investment guide handbook.

The handbook to be published in both hard and soft copies is aimed at marketing the investment opportunities and incentives among others to the global potential investors.

The handbook will therefore enable the investors to make informed decisions on why and where to invest in East Africa since it will carry opportunities and incentives from all the six partner states of the EAC.

Among the expected outcomes of the handbook is that more products will be on the shelves of East Africans and job opportunities will be increased.

Promoting the region as a single investment destination gives investors more options, widens the market, creates more job opportunities and increases on the number of products on our shelves resulting into affordable prices for all.

What needs to be done?

However this process cannot go without proper government policies and programmes in place for it to effectively implemented.

As the Investment promotion agencies come together to market the region as a single investment destination, the partner states of the East African Community (EAC) need to to fully liberalise their economies, allow free movement of trade and services and eradicate non-tariff barriers.

The countries also need to fully harmonise the Common External Tariff (CET) and domestic taxes and make business immune from politics.

The trading bloc currently maintains a common external tariff of zero percent for imports of raw materials, 10% for intermediate goods and 25% of finished goods. EAC partner states also need to enhance competitiveness by reducing the costs of production.

East African Economic outlook report 2018 published by the African Development Bank said that constraints to our competitiveness include high transport and logistics costs, high energy and labour among others.

Therefore our competitiveness could be enhanced by lowering the costs of production by managing labour, energy, logistics and cost of inputs, like raw materials.

Partner states should also play complementary roles in ensuring that the region does not continue being the market of finished goods from other regions, but also a producer of goods for export.

However it should be noted that there has been remarkable progress made on the EAC regional integration pillars that include the Customs Union, the Common Market, the Monetary Union and the Political Federation.

Customs Union is regarded as most successful notably with the implementation of common legal instruments and trade facilitation programmes across the region.

These include; the Single Customs Territory, One Stop Border Posts, Authorised Economic Operator Programme and the Customs Business systems.

According to the UIA Acting Director General Lawrence Byensi, the authority will also provide information on investment procedures and incentives, private sector and project profiles that government would like to be part of the EAC regional sectors and project profiles.

The East African Community secretariat in Arusha has contracted a Ugandan company, ICT Consults Ltd to develop the handbook both in hard and soft copies.

Chief Executive Officer of ICT Consults Prof Venansius Baryamureeba said the company will also develop an electronic business registration system so that an investor who is registered in one of the partner states does not have to be registered in another partner state.

The platform will link all Investment Promotion Agencies of the EAC and all other investment related institution’s to enable the investor make an informed decision. It is imperative for Private Sector to drive the EAC Integration process and reinforce advocacy in order to address critical challenges in the business environment.