Cabinet has approved the proposed principles for the amendment of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2011 and the Bills of Exchange Act, Cap 68.
Addressing journalists at the Media Centre in Kampala today, minister for Information and National Guidance, Frank Tumwebaaze, said that the amendments will improve efficiency and effectiveness in the country’s financial service delivery.
“The bill will also help in management of risks in the financial services in order to protect the consumers,” Tumwebaze said. “It will provide for the security, facilitation and regulation of electronic communications and transactions and to encourage the use of e-Government services and other related matters.” said Tumwebaze.
Other agreements
The cabinet meeting on Monday, also directed the ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of the East African Community (EAC) Affairs to examine the provisions within the African continental free Trade Area which Uganda aims to be part of.
An agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) was scrutinized by cabinet and a committee was set up to discuss how to improve Uganda’s competitiveness in the regional community and Africa Continental free trade Area.
The committee is also to report on the progress of the negotiations for the establishment. African countries are set to put their signatures to an agreement that will launch the African Continental Free Trade Area in Kigali, Rwanda tomorrow.
African heads of government agreed to establish a continental free trade area in 2012 and started negotiations in 2015. The agreement is set to be signed by all 55 member states of the African Union bringing together 1.2 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product of more than $2 trillion.
The draft agreement commits countries to removing tariffs on 90 per cent of goods, with 10 per cent of sensitive items to be phased later.
The agreement will also liberalize services and aims to tackle so called non-tariff barriers, which hamper trade between African countries such as the long delays at the border.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Winnie Nabaasa
Quelle/Source: The Observer, 20.03.2018
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