UBL commissions shs17.6bn logistics warehouse

Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) has commissioned a shs17.6 billion top-of-the-line logistics warehouse and empties handstand.

The  ceremony was presided over by the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) - John Musinguzi.

The warehouse will improve the business’s logistics and storage capacity in line with its expansion plans.

The facility features an Empties Hardstand and Beer Membrane Filtration (BMF) Plant, which

an accommodate full goods storage of 7,294 pallets and empties storage of 8,171 pallets; a forklift handling capacity of 7,350 cases per forklift per day and; a truck capacity of 132 trucks per day.

The project will also save the brewery shs2.47 billion  per annum and according to UBL’s Managing Director - Andrew Kilonzo as it increases  the brewery’s efficiency in producing, storing, and packaging products.

“We are driven by the purpose to be a beacon of excellence in manufacturing in Uganda and the wider region. And by increasing our production and storage capacity, we will be able to improve efficiency, cut costs and in turn increase our tax remittances to the government in support of service delivery,” he stated.

Kilonzo explained that for the past 75 years, UBL has been a diligent taxpayer, earning a place among the top 10 taxpayers in the country while contributing more than UGX 200 billion in taxes annually and over shs 7.4 trillion in total.

According to the Finance Ministry’s Performance of the Economy report  for September, the Business Tendency Index (BTI) which measures the level of optimism that executives have about the current and expected outlook for production, order levels, employment, prices and access to credit  increased from 52.62 in August 2022 to 52.93 in September 2022, with optimism mainly expressed in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

Additionally, the gross domestic product (GDP) from manufacturing in Uganda increased to shs 5152.15 billion in the second quarter of 2022 from shs 5055.39 billion in the first quarter of 2022 .

The URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi hailed UBL for not only being tax compliant  but also a champion of sustainable manufacturing through projects that protect and replenish the environment.

“I want to applaud UBL for being a model manufacturer in adopting and implementing innovations in tax collections, such as the Digital Tax Stamps, in addition to promoting environmental sustainability. It is through the efforts and commitment of companies such as yours that we will achieve our vision of transforming Uganda," Rujoki said.

In May last year, officials from Burundian Revenue Authority visited UBL on a benchmarking mission to understand how the company has successfully and consistently implemented the Digital Tax Stamp system in its operations.

Japheth Katto, UBL’s board chair, encouraged more dialogue to strengthen the bonds between the public and private sectors.

“There's nothing so difficult that genuine dialogue can not resolve; to this note allow me to applaud you and your team for embracing dialogue. I was a regulator for many years and I learnt that good regulation is when the regulator and the regulated work together to resolve complex issues,” he said.

UBL’s Kilonzo appreciated URA for its efforts toward digitizing and easing the tax collection process, which has helped improve efficiency for businesses.

“We reiterate our commitment towards continuing to support URA as far as domestic revenue mobilization is concerned and look forward to working together towards further contributing to the socio-economic growth of Uganda,” he added.