Mr Helio Varela, an investment expert from Cape Verde, said yesterday that Uganda can compete favourably as an investment destination if data was accessible to investors.
Presenting a paper titled; ‘Competitiveness and Licensing, the Cape Verde Experience,’ in Kampala yesterday, Mr Varela said it used to take 53 days to register a business in Cape Verde two years ago, but it now takes less than a day.
In a World Bank report released in September, Uganda came 112th out of 183 countries in registering property and 129 out of 183 in starting business. The report also cited challenges in cross border trade and protecting investors.
E-government, which refers to the use of information technology by creating a central data system for all government arms, aims at improving service delivery to create positive changes in regulatory climate in regard to licensing procedures and the legal frameworks.
Mr Varela was speaking at the Presidential Investors’ Roundtable, a coming-together of government officials and representatives of the private sector.
Speaking at the opening, President Museveni said the money that Uganda expects to get from its oil deposits in the Albertine region will be invested in transport infrastructure, scientific research and energy production.
The President said availability of electricity; good transport systems and technology are a magnet in the growth of businesses.
China, South Korea, Europe and USA have shown interest in refining Uganda’s oil. He said Uganda will have both a refinery to process the product for the East African region and a pipeline to pump crude oil to other countries.
“I need your advice to transform Uganda into a middle income state and transform the Ugandan society from a peasant economy to a modern and prosperous country,” President Museveni said.
The Roundtable agreed to pay emphasis to the following sectors between 2009 and 2011: transport and logistics, competitiveness, e-government and multimedia, agricultural production, value addition and petroleum.
The debate about how to make Uganda’s economy more competitive will continue today when officials from the government and the private sector meet for the National Competitiveness Forum at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
Paul Collier, an economics professor from Oxford University, will deliver the keynote address. Other confirmed speakers include Central Bank Governor Tumusiime-Mutebile, former finance minister Gerald Sendaula and industrialist Mohan Kiwanuka, among others.
The Forum, organised annually by the Ministry of Finance, will run under the theme: ‘Repositioning Uganda for Global Competitiveness’.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Faridah Kulabako
Quelle/Source: Daily Monitor, 16.10.2009
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