Report of the Ugandan UK Convention - an investment Forum 2012

2012

2nd

Summary Report15th Sept 2012London United Kingdom

www.ugandanconventionuk.org

UGANDAN UK Convention

2nd Ugandan UK ConventionA Diaspora Trade and Investment Expo 2012

theme “aspiring for Sustainable Prosperity”

Willy Mutenza - Chairman

It is a great pleasure for me to write these few words about the momentous event that has been the 2nd Uganda Convention UK

, that took place on 15th September 12 in London . We have been truly blessed to have had so many outstanding speakers and guests, and very many delegates, who hold Uganda dear to their hearts. Without this love and dedication to our home country, an event such as the convention would be a futile exercise indeed. It is precisely because we have these

feelings of care, of belonging, of wanting to see our people flourish, come out of poverty, and be healthy, that so many of us attend such an event, determined to get involved, to make a difference. This desire to ‘do our bit’ is the best foundation from which to start putting down the first building blocks. Uganda abounds with opportunities. I do not think that lack of capital should deter anyone from getting involved. More and more, the government and other institutions, as well as new laws, make it easier for anyone to set up business or invest in partnership with others, in so many ways and in so many different sectors. All investment and activities, however small they appear to be, do make a difference on the ground in Uganda . We all know how microfinance can turn a family’s welfare around, where the most pressing hardships are eradicated in a very short time. In her wonderful book ‘My life’s Journey, Janet Museveni mentions that mindsets need to change in order for change to take place on the ground. Ugandans in the Diaspora have that power to change mindsets back in Uganda . They have seen, learnt and lived many new ways of life and work, which could all be the keys needed back home to open and enrich

minds in ways that money could never achieve. Shared knowledge can be just as precious as capital investment. After hearing our guests speak, I trust that no one has any doubt any more that the whole of Uganda is calling on its ‘scattered children’ across the world to come back and plant some seeds of the enriching lessons and harvests they have gathered in those far away lands. It is our love for our country that will ensure Uganda will flourish. Not one of us should rest easy until we have all made a difference, small or big, even if it just to ensure that a young child can remain in school for one year, or provide a bicycle for a District Nurse. I am filled with complete confidence that much will be achieved, following this Convention. I want to encourage every single one of you to aspire to make a difference to the future of Uganda . We owe it to all our brothers and sisters in Uganda , we owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to the world.

Willy MutenzaChairmanUganda Convention-UKMobile: +447790 647 089

Email: [email protected]: www.ugandanconventionuk.orgVideos: www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

My call to all UgandansMy call to all Ugandans

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The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga started her address by extending greetings to the

delegates from the President, Parliament and the people of Uganda.

“Fellow Ugandans” Hon Kadaga said, “I also want to thank you all in the Diaspora for the contribution to our economy which we cannot take for granted. We really want to thank you for your support.”

The Speaker noted that the 50th anniversary of Uganda’s independence was an opportunity for people to refl ect on who they are and what they can do for themselves and their country. She reminded delegates that when we received the instruments of offi ce in 1962, we did not expect our citizens to live abroad permanently. “But circumstances of different kind forced people of Uganda to leave the country to settle initially perhaps only temporarily, which later became more permanent”, she lamented.

Hon. Kadaga reminded delegates that many Ugandans living abroad have studied and made careers there, and have therefore developed much capacity in fi nances and technologies. And that they should now harness joint resources and make a difference in the country. She reported that the Government of Uganda had responded by facilitating dual citizenship for Ugandans, thereby facilitating work and investment in either or both countries.

Hon. Kadaga invited them to market Uganda, to speak for Uganda, to invest in Uganda but more importantly to visit Uganda.

The Rt. Hon. Speaker then proceeded to share

information on fi ve areas of opportunities available for the delegates to tap in:

The Tourism Industry, where for example lodges can be set up along the crater lakes of the Rift Valley; or along Lake Nyatoto, the Kazinga channel and the hills of Bunyaruguru. She mentioned the rich and unique history of various kingdoms that could be marketed as well, especially the Karamoja area, where the First Lady has done a good job to bring up the welfare of these people. The Karamoja people have a unique way of life with a rich heritage and she urged delegates to take an interest in the Karamoja area and visit it. Uganda has Lake Victoria, Lake George, Lake Kyoga, Lake Edward and the River Nile and boat cruises and water rafting are still unexploited possibilities. She called on delegates to take interest in the water transport and in leisure boats on all the lakes.

The Rt Hon Speaker shared some statistics about Uganda’s population and housing sector: The population of Uganda is growing at a rate of 3.2 % which means that the bulk of the population is below 35 years. These are young people, most of them in the lower and middle income group, will need houses Currently, Uganda has a defi cit of more than 2million housing units just for the urban areas although it is a fact that this population will need schools, quality hospitals and quality recreation facilitiesThe oil industry which has recently been discovered will bring new opportunities. Uganda expects to receive more expatriates with their families and their support services. They will need satellite cities in different parts of Uganda, facilities unique to them, opportunities that she would like delegates to exploreUganda has become the UN regional offi ce for Africa. This presents opportunities as they require offi ce space, housing and sports and other facilities.

The Rt. Hon Speaker reminded delegates of the opportunities in the oil, gas, mining and energy areas.

Rt. Hon. Speaker informed delegates that Uganda’s unique placement in the area had turned it into a food basket for the region. With a favourable climate and great seasons, there are many opportunities in commercial agriculture and also in food processing.

Hon. Kadaga invited delegates to take interest in the banking industry which is one of the fastest

growing sectors in the Ugandan economy.

She informed delegates that Government is constructing the Entebbe-Kampala express highway to minimise inconvenience to travellers on that route. She said the government is expected to construct additional facilities like fl yovers within the city and in other towns to ease their movements so that they are not inconvenienced.

She assured them that the aviation industry in Uganda continues to grow. Uganda is serviced by over 14 airlines and plans are under way to attract more airlines through the planned expansion of the airport, as well as improving other facilities needed there.

The local transport industry is another area she identifi ed as growing. In the absence of public government transport, this is an area they could consider, especially for Kampala, Jinja and other towns. She also advised them to consider the rail industry.

Hon. Kadaga singled out industrialisation as the most important sector for them to get interested in. She said that for far too long, Uganda has sent raw materials into the market, but now was important for Uganda to export fi nished products. She therefore called upon delegates to invest in industries that will not only support agriculture but will also create markets and employment opportunities for the millions of Ugandans who are unemployed.

Hon. Kadaga informed the convention that Uganda has the advantage of a fairly educated population, possibly not very skilled in certain technologies but she was confi dent that Ugandans are very adaptable. She invited delegates to invest in higher education, polytechnics and vocation schools. She added that if one invested in education in Uganda, they would have an advantage throughout East Africa because many people from Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania study in Uganda, still the education destination of choice in the East African community.

The Rt. Hon. Speaker concluded her address by thanking everybody for listening to her. She called upon the ministers present to elaborate on the areas that the delegates wanted to learn about. She ended by reiterating her delight to be at the convention and that all she had shared was for God and her country.

Video at: www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

Transcript of the

Rt Hon. Rebecca Alitwala KadagaSpeaker of the Ugandan Parliament

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The First Lady of Uganda and Minister for Karamoja Affairs started her speech by expressing great pleasure to be at the 2nd Uganda Convention in UK.

She conveyed greetings from the President and all the people of Uganda and said it was gratifying to know that Ugandans in London are still interested to know about what is happening in Uganda, and especially in a corner like Karamoja, which most people don’t normally really care about.

Hon. Museveni informed the delegates that she came to the convention in response to an invitation by the chairman Mr. Willy Mutenza, to share her experience, successes and challenges in her work in Karamoja.

The Minister reminded delegates that she was given this assignment in 2009, when the region at that time, had just been through a drought for three years. She said the region was dry, there was shortage of food but surprisingly the cattle were not as thin as she had expected. There was shortage of water for both people and cattle. The situation was bleak and people had no hope for anything to change. She reminded delegates of the expression that was so common that “the rest of Uganda cannot wait for Karamoja to develop”

Her fi rst task, Mrs.Museven said, was to conduct a monitoring tour of all the 41 sub-counties of Karamoja to understand the development and challenges faced by these people. Through dialogue with the

grassroots population and communities interaction, she was exposed to the pains and suffering of the ordinary families in Karamoja. “I touched the depth of the tragedy of many years of isolation of these communities and the despair of these people was truly emotionally draining”, she said.“In my hands, I held children debilitated by acute malnutrition while talking to mothers whose only hope was the next supply of irregular food ration of humanitarian agencies.I knew then that we had the responsibility to get our people out of abject poverty and to lead them to prosperity where we are as a country in Uganda now.”

Mrs Museveni shared that some few years before she was appointed, the president has pitched camp in Karamoja for three month and had launched the disarmament programme which was on-going. Unfortunately, she said, the poverty levels were the engine that drove confl ict and insecurity in the region. Therefore, there was a need to get God’s own wisdom and inspiration that would breathe life back to this devastated region of Uganda.

She wondered how many delegates remembered the biblical story in the book of Ezekiel Chapter 37, which talks about the valley of bones.The First Lady said,” If you know it, you will understand that, if God could raise the valley of the dry bones into a standing army of Israel, then Karamoja was nothing to God, for God can do all things”. Therefore” she said, “our work in Karamoja started with a lot of prayer and believing in God to lead our plans”.

They set to work with the cooperation of the UPDF, who reinforced the disarmament exercise by including the Karamojong elders who, in turn, helped by mobilising the youth for peace. The police galvanised the numbers to ensure that law and order was in place and Local Defence Units (LDUs) were trained by police to ensure that communication at the grassroots was easy, as LDUs were Karamojong themselves. As security forces continued to stabilise villages and communities, they started new initiatives on food production.

She elaborated that the Ministry of Karamoja, under the Offi ce of the Prime Minister (OPM) launched a comprehensive food security plan for Karamoja which was to consolidate the approach towards a transformed production system, although there was need for some emergency measures. They therefore came up with a short term solution to get the population back in the mode of growing food for themselves instead of relying on food aid.

Having recognised that the women who form the bulk of farmers in Karamoja, as they do in the rest of Africa, were too weak and too discouraged to plough and plant enough to get them out of the vicious cycle of famine and food relief, they initiated a tractor hire scheme, whereby a commercial fi rm was brought in to plough, harrow and plant an agreed acreage for identifi ed vulnerable households and women groups to ensure that they would get adequate quantities of food. Her ministry, and NAADS, Ministry Of Agriculture and other donor agencies supplied seeds and other planting materials.

They started by opening up some 2300 acres for vulnerable households at that time. In the last season, they opened up 20,000 acres and planted food in all the districts of Karamoja. This is over and above what some farmers manage to do for themselves.

“Presently”, she said, “some able farmers make independent arrangements with commercial farms to hire tractors to open up land. Others are already asking government to help them acquire tractors, while others are beginning to discuss ways they can come together, as farmer associations can bring in big harvests, manage their produce better and obtain better prices on the market for their produce.

She assured delegates that the mind-set of the people in Karamoja is already changing

Transcript of the

H.E. Mrs. Janet Kataaha Museveni,First Lady of the Republic of Uganda and Minister for Karamoja Affairs

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with an illustration that when they started this mission, 70% of the people in Karamoja were living on food aid but today the food insecure families are only 10%.

Turning to the situation of water supply, the Minister reported that the government of Uganda put in place a framework to guide this recovery and development in the whole of northern region and Karamoja, called PRDP. Under this program, they set to provide water both for human and animal consumption. By the end of this year, they hope to have at least 15 parish valley dams and hope to provide at least one valley dam per parish for animals in all 177 parishes in Karamoja. The rest of the valley dams will be constructed under NUSAF2 program, starting at the end of this year.

The Minister informed delegates that the Ministry of Water which is responsible for providing water reservoirs in the country, has constructed one reservoir per district in Karamoja. She was hopeful that when all these water points are completed, there will be suffi cient water for animals and for irrigation assisted agriculture.

Mrs.Museveni said that in addition, they have boreholes for domestic use and are working with UNICEF to ensure repair or drilling where necessary so that they can ensure clean water for communities wherever they may be. They also want to fi t solar pumps on each borehole so that communities can be empowered to grow vegetables around the water source using drip irrigation, thus improving the nutrition status of households in Karamoja.

On community empowerment, the Minister reported that they have designed the program specifi cally to try to bridge the gap left by cattle rustling, which at times left families too vulnerable to know how to survive. In efforts to motivate such families, they provide livestock such as cattle or goats to some women and youth groups and they include some oxen so that they can enable people to revive the use of ox ploughs for agriculture.

In order to curb cattle theft, the minister said they started an electronic branding of all cattle in Karamoja. The practice involves inserting an electronic chip in the stomach of the cow, containing information such as name of owner, its locality, colour of the cow etc. If the animal is stolen then traced, an electronic monitor can easily read the information and the cow relocated to its rightful owner. She said this form of cattle branding has helped a lot to minimise cattle rustling in Karamoja. The people have regained the confi dence that they can actually keep their animals once branded. So far, 80,000 heads of cattle have been branded and the exercise is still on-going. “I am glad

to report that the people of Karamoja have embraced and appreciated this intervention. Neighbouring districts have requested for this service to be extended to their livestock as well”, the minister concluded.

On the education sector, Mrs.Museveni noted that Karamoja has lagged behind because of various challenges which include infrastructure, school buildings and staff houses, lifestyles and attitudes of communities, leading to low enrolment and high dropout rates. She lamented that despite the progress the country has made in education, Karamoja is only still at 12% literacy rate, which is very low. In response to this, the minister reported, the government of Uganda, assisted by partners in development like Irish Aid, have constructed new staff houses and classrooms. She said they will continue on this road to consolidate these achievements through the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund in the next three years. “As part of the affi rmative action for Karamoja under UPE and USE, Karamoja children access free education and 100 scholarships for tertiary education are set aside for Karamoja children every year. Government also plans to build model boarding primary and secondary schools throughout the region, complete with teachers’ houses so that children are taught and fed and kept in school full time instead of dropping out.”

Reporting on the health sector, the Minister informed delegates that provision of health services has remained a big challenge in Karamoja. The region continues to report high levels of maternal and infant mortality rates. She identifi ed the following as critical factors responsible for the crisis: inadequate accommodation for health workers and inability to attract and retain qualifi ed staff, thus making service delivery particularly diffi cult. In order to address these challenges, she said government has taken the following steps: allocating resources through PRDP and NUSAF 2; two district hospitals in Abim and Moroto have been elevated to referral medical facilities for that region; collaborating with private hospitals like Matany missionary hospital to train midwives and nurses who will be absorbed into government health facilities; through MOH and UNICEF, immunisation, nutritional therapy, sanitation and sensitisation of communities on maternal and child care.

She concluded that in an effort to bring primary healthcare services closer to the people, UNICEF has helped them to establish village health teams in communities across the region of Karamoja. Village health teams are small health clinics at village level.

The Minister informed delegates that the roads in Karamoja region, like any other

infrastructure, suffered many years of lack of maintenance and because of insecurity, the road network was not used. Therefore, there was no maintenance for a long time and in the rainy season, fl oods would wash away bridges. To alleviate the situation, the Government has decided to upgrade some of the roads in Karamoja to make them permanent. Some funds have been secured to commence work on the Moroto-Nakapiripirit road. The Ministry Of Works, through the National Roads Authority (NRA), has also advised Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the working on several roads. PPP is a strategy they use in Karamoja to try to change the road network. The Minister concluded that she had no doubt that this improvement in infrastructure will boost development and will open the region to further investment opportunities.

Addressing the housing sector, the First Lady reported that the Karamojong have for a long time lived in grass thatched houses, in community settlements known as manyatas.“Knowing the role of good housing in promoting better quality of life and taking the aspirations of local people to experience social recovery and transformation, we have piloted the construction of permanent housing settlements in Nadunget, in Acerere village, Kamuswahili, in Moroto town and Olengedwat, in Nakapiripirit district” she highlighted. She elaborated that each organised homestead has twenty homes fully connected with solar lighting. Around those homes are situated schools, water sources and an agricultural production area. This arrangement, it is hoped, will act as an incentive for future development of permanent homes in the area.

Mrs. Museveni outlined government interventions in the area of Rural Electrifi cation. She said Government has completed construction of electricity lines in the areas of Muyembe, Namalu, Amudat, Soroti, Katakwi and Moroto, and was exploring solar power initiatives with private sector. She encouraged Ugandans at the convention to explore participating in this programme of rural electrifi cation.

“As we look to the future, we shall continue to work towards the region producing its own food, engaging in other development activities and with improved infrastructure. Therefore, we shall attract investors to help the region harness its natural resources and potential so that prosperity can become a reality in this region” the minister stated.

She concluded that they hope to achieve all these aims within the framework of Karamoja Integrated Development Program. The program enables all stakeholders to contribute and stay together as equal partners for the progress of Karamoja, a region of

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opportunity for private entrepreneurs and investors from within and outside Uganda.

The First Lady proceeded to list what Karamoja has to offer: Karamoja is home to one of the most beautiful and highly endowed game parks in Uganda, the Kidepo National Game Park. The stunning and unique scenery in the region and undisturbed habitat offer tremendous opportunity for eco-tourism. The vast territory with its rich volcanic soils is a great advantage for mechanised commercial crop and livestock agriculture to feed the market within Uganda, as well as the regional and global demands. The region is rich with various minerals, many of them ready for exploration. Avenues for green energy production, including solar and fuel thermal renewable energy, are unparalleled.

There are opportunities for large forests plantations to offer carbon credit to partners from industrialised countries, as well as for contributing towards mitigation and

adaptation of global warming and climate change.

“This meeting, focussing on sustainable prosperity, should embrace these opportunities and encourage all Ugandans, friends and partners in development and entrepreneurs, to pursue these opportunities in Karamoja. In so doing, we shall have a win-win situation, where profi ts are shared, and the people of Karamoja can taste prosperity like the rest of the world”, emphasised Mrs. Museveni.

Citing that Europe could not be complete without Germany, whose role is very signifi cant in the contemporary Europe, she said that Uganda’s development cannot be complete without the development of Karamoja.

Concluding her presentation, the First Lady and Minister for Karamoja Affairs called upon all present to join them on this

journey to bring our brothers to the same level with the rest of Uganda, in dignity and prosperity. “The development of Karamoja”, she reiterated, “is a collective responsibility. It is a frontier we have to cross even as we celebrate the golden jubilee of our independence. Fortunately investments opportunities are wide open for us to exploit for the good of the Karamojong and Uganda at large”.

She pledged the commitment of the government of Uganda to support any endeavour towards enhancing the prosperity of Karamoja.

Hon. Museveni once again, thanked the organisers for giving her the opportunity to share her experience with the convention delegates.

“I thank you for listening to me and God Bless you” Video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

Dr. Robert Limlim is the Director of the second Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) program, he accompanied the 1st lady and during his presentation he started by inviting Ugandans and friends of Uganda to consider the peace and recovery program that has been launched by the government for the whole of northern Ugandan including Karamoja that has made tremendous progress in the recovery of our people after the various decades of war. Happily he said that NUSAF program has only run for 3 years but the results are resounding and was happy to share the 3 objectives that NUSAF focus on as the over arching principle of recovery.

1. Establish in northern Uganda and Karamoja a government and state authority again and the community and government structures are beginning to pick up so that they can lead progress of northern Ugandan and Karamoja

2. To revitalize the economies of the people at micro level so that the national economy can be fed at the macro level as well and this is happening right now he confi rmed.

3. Rebuilding communities as a third objective and a fi nally putting in place confl ict resolution mechanism.

He further assured that in the next four years after the renewal of Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP), we shall consolidate on these gains and northern Uganda should be at the level where the rest of Uganda can now join in the progression of our country without special attention as it used to be in the last four years. In northern Uganda through the northern Uganda social action fund we have been able

to develop grassroots initiatives and this helps us as a government to fi nance people directly not to fi nance government structures through household livelihood investment support; so far we have constructed infrastructure for basic social services; we have established peace and stability as well as constructed road in northern Uganda and Karamoja.

He disclosed that the government of Ugandan provides over 100billion Ug Shs as additional support beyond the ordinary budget that we do every year this is a substantial force to propel northern Uganda forward and this is in addition to $100m (Shs240b) from the World Bank into the second phase of NUSAF II as part of PRDP. Also he reported that through northern NUSAF over $15million dollars every year to the districts of northern Uganda and so far he reported that the success is at the level of the real tangible gains for households and people of northern Ugandan are rebounding back although there is a lot of work to be done but hope and possible avenues for future progression. He further reported that the challenges of education which the 1st Lady and Minister of Karamoja mentioned in karamoja and northern Ugandan is still real although we have constructed over 1464 units of teachers through NUSAF and additional through PRDP though more still needs to be done in education.

On lively woods he further reported that they have reached over 96750 families with concrete s at the level of household to buy goat to be able to invest in their micro enterprises. He assured that if we do this for another 3 years our society will become a little better than it is now.

He reinforced that in Karamoja we approaching under 3 dimensions; putting money in the hands of ordinary people not institutions of government so the planning unit in karamoja is the manyata popularly known as the ere, we plan with the ordinary mothers, children and youth on what investment they would have; we give the money on special project accounts for the ordinary people controlled by the people themselves and not by anybody in government and this has enabled people to be empowered and to control their destiny in their hands. Dr. Limlim said that the government has deliberately agreed that unless our people control their destiny not just the government structures then it is very diffi cult for them to own the progress that is happening and the resources so far that we have released to the whole of northern Ugandan is 115billion UgShs under the social action fund of northern Uganda.

He informed that World Food Program and DFID provided £12 million for food security as the 1st lady and minister for Karamoja has just highlighted.

Finally he invited all the people of Uganda and the well wishers in the Diaspora to join the hands of the people that are already in the trenches trying to dig out development in the hands of Uganda and we hope that tomorrow our country will be better for all of us. It is only us who have our destiny in our hands and he called upon Ugandans to unite in this quest for progress because prosperity is in our hands now, lastly he thanked the Convention organisers for inviting the Karamoja team invited all to northern Uganda and karamoja to see the development taking place in reality.

Transcript of Dr. Robert Limlim

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Hon. Tress Bucyanayandi, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries

started his speech by emphasised that agriculture is the most important sector in Ugandan economy. He stated that out of a population of 34 million people, agriculture employs 4.5 million directly in farming and another 2.5 million people engaged in other various agriculture related activities. And more than 77% of the population is engaged in this sector. He was happy to report that agriculture’s performance grew by 3% over the previous year. He reported that the Ugandan government has a target of raising a family’s income to about 20million UgShs per family per year, which is achievable if some enterprise routes are exploited.

In the agro-processing sector, the Minister pointed out that most of the cotton is exported raw instead of being processed in fi nal textile which would add value to the exported product. And some of this crop could be processed into animal feeds or oil. He added that Uganda produces the best coffee which can be roasted in Uganda and turn it in

a fi nished product. Arabica coffee could be brought in to supplement Uganda’s production, standing now at 15% Arabica and 85% Robusta. Cocoa is coming up signifi cantly in Uganda and again investors are invited to take advantage of the value addition opportunities by converting cocoa into by-products like chocolate.

In the area of fruits and vegetables, the Minister said that Uganda’s pineapples and other fruits are some of the sweetest and that there is vast opportunities as the international market is demanding fresh and dried fruits. On fl oral culture, he advised investors to look at growing other types of fl owers where again the market offers big opportunities.

Due to the rising population in the region and Uganda, producing cereals and grain foods are some of the best opportunities because the raw product can be converted into

animal feeds and also food for human consumption.

In the dairy sector ,he reported a tremendous increase in the output where 1.8 billion litres of milk annually were produced, with potential for growth. Milk coolers and abattoirs for processing meat for export especially to the middle east market are one of those the Minister advised immediate investments in.

The Minister advised people to start looking at manufacturing and producing fi sh using fi sh cages and ponds as the demand is extremely high all over the world. Uganda used to earn more than $183 million from exports but the fi gures are not promising due to low investment in the sector.

He mentioned the success story of Uganda and Nile breweries, leading in the growing of barley and sorghum to produce beer. Kinyara sugar works is reaching out to commercial sugar growers to help farmers benefi t especially during this time when Uganda produces less sugar. And he advised investors to

look at investing in sugar cane farming as the regional demand is high.

He further said that Uganda can’t increase productive by using the old manual methods. Machinery and innovative commercial technology and know-how is needed in the country to increase productivity. He advised on investors to come and start a tractor hire service as many people can’t afford to buy their own tractor but can afford to hire at a reasonable cost.

The seed industry is another sector the Minister quoted, disclosing that only 15% of Uganda’s seed is improved, offering great opportunities to improve this fi gure.

Regarding fertilisers, Uganda does not even use 1 kilogram of fertilisers per hectare per year. . Phosphates and lime can be exploited to produce fertilisers, as well as derivatives of the oil industry and other minerals .

He further reported that though Uganda has a good climate, commercial irrigation is still needed to support commercial farming.

He fi nally informed delegates that Uganda needs investment in agro-processing urgently because the industry will not grow without adding value to raw products. The country needs to sustain the production for its fast growing population and be able to supply the local and regional food demand. It also needs to increase the shelf life of fi nished products. Lastly, he advised people to take advantage of minimum and tax exemption on agro-processing and machineries as reported by Jolly K. Kaguhangire from the Uganda Revenue Authority.

He concluded his speech by thanking Mr. Willy Mutenza and his team for inviting him with his team to the Convention and encouraged him to persuade delegates to go and invest in Uganda and take advantage of the peace, good climate and incentives given to investors.Video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

Transcript of the

Hon. Tress BucyanayandiMinister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries

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The Hon. Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Maria Kiwanuka, opened her address by thanking Ugandans in London for looking after the Ugandan Olympic team and most of all for helping Kiprotich win the marathon gold medal. She expressed her appreciation of the role the Ugandan diaspora played in the development of Uganda, not only for the remittances sent by the the Diaspora, but also for the good ideas generated and the business contacts that they attracted to the country.

Hon. Kiwanuka stated that there was no doubt that the focus for this year’s convention, Career and Investment Opportunities in Uganda, was of critical importance to the government’ prioritisation to renewing the country’s economic growth. The government’s strategy is to support value-added in agro-processing, skilling of the workforce in areas that are most relevant to the job market and lowering the cost of doing business by increasing the stock of infrastructure, energy, roads and water transport networks. She said that the government is very much aware that the private sector both inside

and outside Uganda is the engine of growth, responsible for over 80% of GDP and that the government’s best role is to see where it can help the private sector to achieve its optimum returns. Hon. Kiwanuka reported that, in order to maximise returns and target limited resources to most critical areas, the government is concentrating on the following areas:Infrastructure development; roads repair , maintenance and expansion; power generation, power transmission and distributionResearch development which includes skilling of workforce, and training our trainers, to make sure that our people get back to work.Research and development in improved seeds, improved animal semen and how best to control crop diseases and pest diseases. Assist with business regulatory frameworks to streamline and rationalise the licensing and regulation framework to ensure business people/ entrepreneurs are not frustrated in their efforts to set up or continue their businesses. Selection of public /private partnerships i.e. fi rst contractor fi nancing or contractor facilitated

fi nancing., and energy transmission lines or energy generation whereby mini hydro schemes are set up to sell power to the government ,to be sold to the ultimate consumer.

Hon. Kiwanuka stated that 3 key bench mark questions will be asked in order to maximise returns:Does the investment increase the stock of infrastructure, productive infrastructure, roads power and irrigation and ICT?Does the investment add value to its product or process? Will it enable the product or process to be produced cheaper or better?Does the investment lower the cost of doing business? And if, so by how much?

“In the year 2010, the Ugandan Diaspora sent back remittances over 40 billion Shillings excluding informal fl ows. With the global economy continuing to register slow growth and persistence of the crisis in the Euro zone, the government cannot ignore the potential of private fi nancial fl ows from Ugandans in the Diaspora in forms of property income, equity investments and pension payments among others. The advantage of such

Transcript of the

Hon. Maria KiwanukaThe Hon. Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

investments is that they are more stable than wage income but also enable the owners to broaden their investment portfolios.”

Hon. Kiwanuka urged delegates not to forget the fact that returns on investment right now are highest in Africa including Uganda, and the risk perceptions are not as high as has been previously envisaged, especially since Uganda is changing her export strategy to focus more on the regional aspects. She said that Uganda is the only country in East Africa that is a net exporter of food and appealed to delegates to improve on the production, the productivity and to add value to this area. The government has 10 commodities for priority interest, these being maize, beans, cassava, rice, bananas, fresh water fi sh, dairy cattle and beef cattle.

The second area Hon. Kiwanuka discussed was regulatory and licensing reform. A number of initiatives have been undertaken by the government to create an enabling business environment and to minimise the cost of doing business in order to attract more international investments, including those of the Diaspora. These programmes are geared towards infrastructure and skills development , the pension sector to be newly liberalised and regulatory and licensing reforms.

The Ministry of Finance came up

with recommendations for business licenses reform. It identifi ed a total of 790 licenses, permits, user charges issued by both central and local government agencies countrywide. It recommended that some of these be eliminated and have already done so because they do not serve any regulatory purpose. Another 400 will be retained, streamlined or reclassifi ed. The implementation of these recommendations will save the private sector more than 25% in their current licensing costs . It will also ensure that licenses are used to serve legitimate regulatory purposes and not revenue generating purposes. The Government is also to establish an offi cial e-registry to house all information on approved business licenses which will minimise duplication of submission of information and excessive licensing. It will serve as a defi nitive repository of information on licensing requirements, thus will increase transparency and compliance by the private sector.

The government will establish the business entry one-stop-shop by integrating business incorporation with other business registration processes such as taxes, registration, licensing and social security registration. This would reduce the time and cost associated with starting and running a business. It will employ ICT tools to enable sharing of critical information on businesses.

Hon. Kiwanuka fully accepted that there are other issues that will require broader policy consideration beyond the scope of licensing reforms, including local government fi nancing, enforcement gaps, regulatory overlap, costs and ineffi ciencies associated with centralised services. She recognised a need to improve co-ordination between various government agencies on policy matters. She said that her ministry is already working closely with the relevant sectors where these problems have been reported in agriculture, local government, fi sheries, trade, health, environment, hotel and tourism sectors. Hon. Kiwanuka concluded her speech by assuring the delegates of the support of the government in all their plans to increase business and other economic set ups in the country and that the government looks forward to their contributions towards revitalisation of growth and sustainable development in Uganda. She hailed the close connection her ministry has with the High Commission, and urged delegates to give any problems or issues which they would like her ministry to address to the High Commissioner or deputy High Commissioner who will make sure that she receives them in the quickest possible time.Video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

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Baroness Chalker was the fi rst panellist to address the delegates. She said that the opportunities in Uganda are there for the taking, but no one should delay at taking them, as many other African countries are also vying for investors. About 15 years ago, she did not think that a music school in Kampala was viable but now the capital has such a school teaching music, like the violin and various wind instruments. Baroness Chalker criticised the fact that too much time is spent talking about what might be done, rather than taking a decision and implementing it.

She said agriculture is critical not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world. Population is increasing very fast in many countries of Africa. Unless value is added and the growth of agriculture is extended all over Uganda, the country will not keep up with its own needs, nor will there be suffi cient food for the surrounding countries, despite there being good export markets right on Uganda’s borders.

She said that people still have a very

warm and positive attitude towards Uganda, but that the country must not let up in making the positive news well known way beyond East Africa. Whilst she believes that Uganda has the best economic opportunities, the country will not succeed if it is disorganised or silent. She was not referring to the excellent organisation at the convention; she meant getting outside the Diaspora, getting to other people who have sympathy for East Africa, which can be particularly done through tourism.

She shared some thoughts on how tourists could be used to better the country by inviting them to Uganda to help build schools and centres. She ended by advising the delegates to “take every opportunity, take the decision and get on with it”.

Next, Dr. Andrew Seguya gave a brief overview of the opportunities in the wildlife sector. He stated that Uganda occupies only 0.01% of the land mass of the world, but has 17% of all biodiversity, a very big percentage for such a small country. In terms of tourism, Uganda

has 10% of its land mass classifi ed as protected areas where a lot of this biodiversity abounds, and where 20% of all water bodies and 30% of all forest cover can be found.

Tourism is the highest earning sector in Uganda, bringing in over 1 billion US Dollars in 2011. 80-90% of this was contributed by the protected areas. Gorillas alone brought in about 80% of this revenue. Dr. Seguya invited delegates to invest in tourism if they wanted to get some of the highest returns. He gave an example of a tourist paying 300 dollars per night for the use of a tent.

He pointed out that there are investment opportunities in accommodation, for stop-over facilities in the national parks, around which different businesses can be built. There is also need for investment in helicopter tourism and hot air balloon rides, things that are not in existence on the ground at the moment.

Dr. Seguya also mentioned birding as an important area for investment. There are 1067 bird species in Uganda in

Transcript of the

Opportunity UgandaSector Panel Discussion Keynote address by Rt Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga

Sector Panel Discussion: Moderator: Joel Kibazo, JK AssociatesPanellists: 1. Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey2. Dr Andrew G. Seguya, Ag. Executive Director, CEO | Uganda Wildlife Authority3. Jolly K. Kaguhangire, Commissioner - Uganda Revenue Authority4. Mr. Sebaggala M. Kigozi, Executive Director – Uganda Manufacturing Association (UMA) 5. Amb. Agnes Kalibbala, Director for Housing - Ministry of Lands and Housing

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comparison to 700 species in Europe and 650 species in North America. Queen Elizabeth national park, which covers 2500 square kilometres, has 700 species of birds. There is a need for specialised birding equipment creating investment opportunities in this area. Mountain climbing needs to be invested in, as well as mountain climbing equipment/gear. Uganda has probably the only mountain in the world, Mt. Rwenzori, on which one can experience all four seasons. Sport fi shing, walking safaris, night safaris all provide investment opportunities because they require specialised equipment that is not readily available in Uganda at the moment. Uganda has the biggest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria, and the River Nile where tourist boats need to invested in, as well as boat accommodation.

He also mentioned that the authority is aware that individuals may not have suffi cient capital for investment, but that the funds for investment can be raised collectively. With the public private partnership law in the pipeline, the National Wildlife Authority will set up an investment vehicle where groups can put money together to be invested in an agreed project. Entrepreneurs with limited funds will thereby still be able to pool funds for an investment and earn returns on it.

Mr. Kigozi said that the manufacturing sector in Uganda is basically a virgin area. Uganda imports 90% of its consumables, and produces the other 10%. 80% of raw materials that could be produced in Uganda are imported, so investors are needed to bridge the gap in both areas. Only 10% of the fruit is processed, and the rest is exported raw. Investors are needed to have 90% processed within the country before export. Of the 300,000 metric tonnes of oil consumed in Uganda, only 126,000 are produced within the country. Most of the items produced in the country are packaged but 50% of packaging materials are imported, which means only 50% is produced within the country, so there is a gap that can be fi lled in all these areas.

Mr. Kigozi went on to say that Uganda has celebrated the oil/ petroleum discovery

but he had not seen many investors looking at the numerous by-products of the oil as investment opportunities. He said that it was high time delegates paid attention to that sector and prepared to take advantage of it. 95% of all drugs used in Uganda are imported and these are simple drugs that can be manufactured within the country. He encouraged delegates to look at the 95% as a gap that they can fi ll and even export the excess drugs to other countries within the East African region, such as South Sudan and D.R Congo.Almost 100% of leather, hides and skins are exported raw, leaving a big gap in the market for the processing of these products. Shoes, bags, suitcases and other leather products must be produced in Uganda .There is a plastics industry in Uganda, but only 40% is produced within the country, a situation calling for more investment.

Ambassador Kalibbala next outlined the investment opportunities in the housing sector. She stated that there is a defi cit of about 3 million housing units. In this regard, the government of Uganda has put in place a number of projects which she hopes investors and members of the Diaspora present at the convention will get interested in.The fi rst one is the building of housing for civil servants, starting with teachers and doctors. The pilot aims to redevelop the Mulago doctor’s village on about 60 acres of land and build a well planned residential area with commercial and recreational facilities to improve the wellbeing of doctors and nurses, enabling them to do their jobs more effectively. The same will be done for the teachers.

The urbanisation rate in Uganda is very high. There will be about 5 million people in Kampala very soon. To decongest the capital, the ministry is planning the redevelopment of the slums, to accommodate all levels of income and will avail commercial premises for the people living there. Through the decongestion plan, there are hopes of starting new satellite towns, taking advantage of the new hydropower dam that will be constructed in Karuma. There needs to be houses, hotels and residential areas built around the area. There might be the need to put up a

satellite town along the new road through Entebbe to Kampala, the southern bypass, to decongest Kampala, so that people in Wakiso can stay there instead of rushing to Kampala. This town will be called Ssisa town. There are plans to set up tourist cities like Buvuma Island, to look like the Seychelles to attract more tourists.

She fi nally invited investors and the Diaspora to come and work with the government to make these plans for the redevelopment of Kampala and the setting up of satellite towns a reality. The government is looking at investors to provide bridging fi nance, funds for construction and production of affordable building materials, establishment of manufacturing factories for the production of tiles, marble, fl oor tiles, and glass to develop the real estate sector.

Mrs. Jolly Kaguhangire of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) began her address by informing the delegates that the URA has undergone reform since 2005, in which the approach to tax collection was changed from a military approach to a more user friendly approach in order to facilitate trade and enhance voluntary compliance. The URA’s mandate is to collect revenues and non-tax revenues on behalf of the government. It had to reform, as the old approach did not help the organisation to excel in what it was doing and without trade, the organisation would not survive.

Reform was achieved primarily through the use of technology and the modernisation of services. The URA now has e-services that were introduced in 2009, to ease the manner in which entrepreneurs can pay taxes, enabling them to do so at their convenience, from any location in the world. The authority also increased support and availability of information to ease payment of taxes.

Mrs. Kaguhangire also mentioned that there are tax exemptions in specifi c areas. Starting in July this year, the government decided to support agro-processing, so importation of any new plant and machinery is tax free; exportation of fi nished goods (80% or more) is tax free; permanent employment of people with

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disabilities earns fi rms some exemptions; there is no tax on income received from investment in education and scientifi c research on capital expenditures is tax free. She concluded by saying that the services provided by URA are good like its 24 hr support, payment by mobile, and the services provided are integrated.

The speaker of the House, Right Hon. Rebecca Kadaga spoke next and enumerated areas that do not require a lot of capital to invest in. She started with wildlife, mentioned attractions such as the climbing lions in Kanungu in the deep West, as well as the mountain gorillas. She particularly wanted to inform the delegates of a new type of tourism in Uganda based on the traditional life of the Ugandan people. She gave an example of a former colleague of hers who left parliament and currently runs a lodge, where tourists pay for the privilege of milking cows and digging in the garden, living the traditional African lifestyle. This is an investment that does not require a lot of funding. She suggested that this could be extended to include activities like pottery, giving them the rare experience of making pots in Africa, showing it is possible to do more without spending too much money.

Right Hon. Kadaga also tried to interest the delegates in investment opportunities around Lake Bunyonyi, the second deepest lake in the world. Tourists pay for the privilege of using canoes on the lake and pay about £400per night to sleep in a simple wooden lodge. She also called the delegates’ attention to religious tourism and said a lot more marketing was needed for the Uganda Martyrs.

In Busoga, she said the government is looking to market the Hannington site in Kyando where Bishop Hannington was killed. Given that Bishop Hannington was sent to Uganda by the Church of England, people from the Church of England could visit the site as a pilgrimage. She mentioned that at the end of this year, there will be a Busoga tourism expo aimed at marketing all nine chiefdoms, as well as religious sites in the area as a starting point. She

concluded by inviting delegates for the Busoga tourism expo in December promising that it will be very exciting.

Next followed a commentary and question time.

Subhash Thakrar, the chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce, Ugandan by birth, who has been involved in investing in India, suggested that the government produce a dedicated, certifi ed list of opportunities on a website that people can look at, something that has been done in India. This can be certifi ed by a leading accounting or law fi rm. He said that since western investors today have plenty of choice to invest in Asia and other countries in Africa, it was time for Uganda to show up the best opportunities available by selling them.

Next, Baroness Chalker answered a query on the political climate and the viability of infrastructure in Uganda (roads, hospitals) so that investors can come to Uganda and invest confi dently. Baroness Chalker agreed with the Chairman of the London chamber of Commerce, saying it is indeed necessary to have dedicated certifi ed list of opportunities with the best opportunities highlighted. She added that this should be the job of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and of every Ugandan High Commission and Embassy around the world. She also said there was a need to reform the working practices of the UIA and strengthen its staffi ng. She reported that she had been asked to help with this reform, together with some dedicated workshops, particularly in the area of information technology (ICT), in the area of agriculture and indeed also on the preparations for oil, gas and power development.

Baroness Chalker mentioned that while it is wonderful in many ways that oil has been found, Uganda is not yet ready to make the most of this bonus coming out of the ground. Many more artisan workers and scientists are needed to make sure that oil and gas production and transportation is done properly and maximises the return to the Ugandan people. She assured the delegates that

this is something that she has put right at the top of her agenda in the next six months.

Dr. Seguya then answered a query on incentives in the tourism sector and progress on the East African single visa regime. He said that the East African parliament is looking at not only issuing a single East African visa, but also at selling East Africa as a single destination. He said they were working on the protection of the smaller states from the stronger ones. He gave an example of tour companies in Kenya being able to buy all the gorilla permits in Uganda with one cheque, thereby pushing all the other tour companies out of business. Dr. Seguya assured delegates that the framework for the single visa is currently being worked out and it will happen.

As the last speaker of the session, Rebecca Kadaga, Speaker of Parliament added that that there are still a number of issues that need to be agree on within the community, such as sovereignty and which type of passports will be issued. With regard to the political climate, the speaker assured delegates that elections are held every fi ve years and to confi rm that politicians from different parties co-exist, she mentioned Commissioner Dombo a member of the NRM, Hon. Balikuddembe, a member of the opposition, Hon. Allen, a former member of the Diaspora who returned home and contested as an independent candidate and Hon. Janet Karuhanga, independent MP for the youth.

Right Hon. Kadaga told delegates that the government is equally concerned about the health situation and addressing it. The government has secured loans to redo all the major hospitals in the country. She concluded by telling the delegates that things are going to change as long as the government receives the support that it needs.

Video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

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Hon. Christine Amongin, the Minister of State for Teso Affairs reminded the audience about the 1st Ugandan UK

Convention that took place in August 2011. “We came out of that Convention” she said, “with recommendations and resolute to forge the way forward in concerted efforts to make Uganda our pride and a better place to live in. We are here now to review our commitments and how to build on what we have done.”She said that at the fi rst Convention, the main objective of Teso Affairs Ministry was to closely oversee Government programs and ensuring their fast-tracking towards accelerated social and economic development in the Teso Region. She explained that having been a new Department of Government in the previous fi nancial year, the Ministry operations were, to a large extent, budget constrained. However, she reported gladly that the Ministry has been allocated a vote and a budget for this fi nancial year.

She implored Ugandans to refl ect on the 50 years journey after attaining independence and quoted a phrase by

science fi ction writer, Robert Heinlein, “A generation which ignores history has no past and no future”, which could be referred to Ugandans. “What our country has gone through over the 50 years should give us a guide to be able to choose what to do to achieve the best for our country”, she said.She appealed to Ugandans in the Diaspora to help combat the challenges of fl ooding in Teso region. This could be an investment opportunity as most of the bridges get fl ooded, though she admitted that the government was trying to do its best to overcome this calamity. Teso region is peaceful and people should take the PPP* (public private partnership) arrangement to engage in business with the assurance of the government as a partner.

She gladly reported that since the 1st Convention, she managed to get some charities from London to work on various projects in Teso. She mention in particular River Flow Ministries who help people on agriculture development. Another charity, Ark Schools, has now constructed 12 secondary schools in the region and all these thanks to the effort of the convention which has allowed the Teso Affairs Ministry to forge good relationship with these charities.

The Minister said that Teso is open for business. Projects in value addition are needed in the region to take advantage of the abundance of cassava and potatoes. She reported some good developments in the region, including the University. His Excellency the President directed the establishment of Teso University sooner than was expected. She reported the Teso University Task Force was accordingly launched by the Minister of Education and Sports, and the university is set to commence in July 2013. She called on skilled Ugandans to go and teach in the two faculties in human resources and IT to commence with the opening of the

University.The region is also working with a Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to construct a fruit factory, which will add value to the many citrus fruit grown in the region. Teso Tropical Growers are calling upon Ugandans in London to take advantage of the investment opportunity, particularly in the agricultural sector. The Teso Affairs Ministry will continue with the emphasis on improving on performance of all agricultural programs, both in the public and private sector to strengthen agricultural production, including food security.

She assured investors that rural electrifi cation is one of the major government policies. In pursuit of this policy, Government put in place the Rural Electrifi cation Agency (REA) to ensure electric energy is availed in the rural areas. The task is ongoing and many rural areas have been placed on the grid for eventual electricity infrastructure provision and connection.

She advised Ugandans to utilize the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995. She encouraged them to seek and obtain information from Government on any issue of importance in any sector of the economy and on Government policies so as to make informed decisions on where to contribute to the development of Uganda.

Finally, she pointed out that “we are aware of our plight, but we must recognize that opportunities exist to turn Teso around”.She concluded by commending and thanking the organizers of the Convention for arranging this important occasion, and inviting her again to participate in it.


Transcript of the presentation by

Amongin Aporu Christine, Minister of State for Teso Affairs

*PPPs allow governments to retain ownership while contracting the private sector to perform a specific function such as building, maintaining and operating infrastructure like roads and ports, or providing basic services like water and electricity. Both sides stand to benefit from the contractual agreement. Government earns revenue by leasing state-owned assets or alternatively pays the private sector for improved infrastructure and better service delivery. Often the private sector can do the job more efficiently, which can lower prices and improve rollout. The private operator gets reimbursed either by government or consumers for doing its work, at a profit

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Mr. Alenyo Marshall, Senior Immigration Offi cer, during his presentation at the 2nd

Ugandan Convention UK, explained that under the current constitution (1995), they are 4 types of citizens of Uganda:

Citizenship by birth. a) every person born in Uganda one of whose parents or grandparents is or was a member of any of the indigenous communities existing and residing within the borders of Uganda as at the fi rst day of February, 1926, and set out in the Third Schedule to this Constitution; and b) every person born in or outside Uganda, one of whose parents or grandparents was at the time of birth of that person a citizen of Uganda by birth.

Foundings and adopting children.a) A child of not more than fi ve years of age found in Uganda, whose parents are not known, shall be presumed to be a citizen of Uganda by birth.b) A child under the age of eighteen years neither of whose parents is a citizen of Uganda, who is adopted by a citizen of Uganda shall, on application, be registered as a citizen of Uganda.

Citizenship by registration1. Every person born in Uganda-a) at the time of whose birth-

i) neither of his or her parents and none of

his or her grandparents had diplomatic status in Uganda; and

ii) neither of his or her parents and none of his or her grandparents was a refugee in Uganda; and

b) who has lived continuously in Uganda since the ninth day of October, 1962. shall, on application, be entitled to be registered as a citizen of Uganda-

2. The following persons shall, upon application be registered as citizens of Uganda-

a) every person married to a Uganda citizen upon proof of a legal and subsisting marriage of three years or such other period prescribed by Parliament:b) every person who has legally and voluntarily migrated to and has been living in Uganda for at least ten years or such other period prescribed by Parliament;c) every person who, on the commencement of this Constitution, has lived in Uganda for at least twenty years.

3. Paragraph (a) of clause (2) of this article applies also to a person who was married to a citizen of Uganda who, but for his or her death, would have continued to be a citizen of Uganda under this Constitution.

4. Where a person has been registered as a citizen of Uganda under paragraph (a) of clause (2)of this article and the marriage by virtue of which that person was registered is-

a) annulled or otherwise declared void by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction; or b) dissolved, that person shall, unless he or she renounces that citizenship, continue to be a citizen of Uganda.

Citizenship by naturalisationParliarment shall by law provide for the acquisition and loss of citizenship bynaturalisation.

Mr. Alenyo explained that when Ugandans in the UK took UK citizenship, they ceased being Ugandan citizen. Holding a Ugandan and British passport does not make one a Ugandan unless he/she registers under article 15 activated by section 19 of the Uganda citizenship and immigration act.

Mr Alenyo explained the privileges of being a dual citizen:

i. You have the right to voteii. You have the right to own

land under the mailo land ownership. (holding mailo land as a Bristish subject is illegal under section 40 of the Land Act)

iii. Acquiring a national ID, which will be issued very soon

Mr Alenyo advised Ugandans in the Diaspora to lobby the Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, who was amongst the VIP delegates at the Convention, to waive the dual citizenship fee which seems to deter everyone to register.

Mr Alenyo said that those who registered for dual citizenship will have the privilege to pick their National Id cards from the High Commission. The national ID cards will be used to access services such as voting and to buy land as citizens, as well as to contest for elective offi ces.

Mr Alenyo listed the offi ces a dual citizen cannot hold among others:

a. President.b. Vice President.c. Prime Minister.d. Cabinet Minister and other

Ministers.e. The Inspector General and the

Deputy Inspector General of Government.

f. Commanding Offi cers of Armed Forces Units of at least battalion strength.

g. Offi cers responsible for heading departments responsible for records personnel and logistics in all branches of the Armed Forces.

h. Inspector General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police.

i. Heads and Deputy Heads of National Security and Intelligence Organisations, (ESO), ISO and CMI).


Transcript of the presentation by

Mr. Alenyo Marshall, Senior immigration offi cer

The truth about Uganda Dual Citizenship

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UGANDAN UK CONVENTIONUgandan UK Diaspora Trade and Investment

Saturday, 14 Sept 2013 Venue: TROXY ARENA

490 Commercial RoadLondon E1 0HX

United Kingdom

Enquiries: Mob: +44779 647 089 | [email protected] in Uganda: Mr. Bernard Magulu: +256 754 410 559

www.ugandanconventionuk.org

3rd

EXPO 2013

Register for your FREE conference ticket: www.3rdugandaukconvention.eventbrite.co.ukUganda Diaspora Investment Expo 2013 will be the largest Ugandan event in Europe that is designed to promote Uganda as a favorit investment destination in Africa. The Expo will offer companies large and small the opportunity to access our lucrative and often overlooked market. The Convention will focus and contribute to the economic empowerment of the Ugandan community through the Expo.

There are many benefits people will receive when they attend this Expo. Some of the essential benefits are discovering new business opportunities, networking, gaining priceless information, and improving personal business contacts, employment opportunities, finding potential business partners, as well as, leisure enjoyment.

Discover the tools, strategies, and tips to financial freedom with truly diversified investments.

» Real Estate » Financial Services ◊ Diaspora Bond

◊ Banking & Access to Finance

» Agribusiness◊ Agro-Processing

» Public-Private Partnerships » Renewable Energy » Transport & Communication » ICT » Tourism » Manufacturing

One day - One Event

Speakers will include Ministers and senior officials, as well as Chairs and Chief Executives of businesses, investment funds and other industries. This Forum will showcase the best investment opportunities that Uganda and East African region have to offer. The Forum presents a platform for investors and project partners to explore and discuss investment opportunities with decision makers.

The Forum will also offer networking opportunities and the space to discuss prospects in key sectors like Agriculture, Infrastructure, Banking and Financial services, Tourism, Manufacturing, Energy, Oil and Gas.

Sector Panel Discussion:

Investing in Financial Markets – (Diaspora Bond)Overview on the investing environment across Ugandan fi nancial markets. Considerations to include preferred sectors, regulatory pressures and typical risk and return of investment funds, mitigation of risks, incentives and Diaspora Bond.

Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, The minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development was the keynote speaker on the session about fi nancial markets. She said that Diasporans have been sending money home to their families, educate children, and look after parents, to build typically housing for them and their families. Now, she said, was the time to look at the fi nancial markets as a way for the Diaspora to invest their money back home in markets like the Diaspora Bond and the stock market of Uganda and several other instruments.

The government knows that the Diasporans can be a stable source of funds more than any other source of investors because their familiarity with Uganda gives them a better perception of any possible risk. Also, Diasporans are generally less concerned with exchange rate fl uctuations because they will invest in Uganda for the long term.

The moderator of the panel was Edwin Charles Senjobe Sentogo. The panel guests were Veronica Kalema from Ned

Bank Capital Africa Credit, Derrick Smail of Homestrings, Kenneth Egesa from Bank of Uganda where he heads the statistics department and Philip Obuya, the Executive Director of Operations in the Bank of Uganda.

The moderator mentioned that in August 2012, it was reported that Bob Diamond, the former CEO of Barclays Capital was to introduce complex investment banking products like hedge funds, derivatives and swaps in Uganda. He invited Veronica Kalema, who does a lot of credit rating on the African continent to explain where Uganda’s fi nancial markets stand at the moment and why should the Ugandans in the Diaspora be interested in investing in fi nancial products in Uganda.

Veronica Kalema explained that Uganda’s fi nancial markets are still at the development stage but nevertheless pose a lot of investment opportunities. Uganda developed a domestic Bond market ten years ago, and increasingly, African countries are going in the Euro Bond market and issuing debt bonds which would have been unthinkable 5 years ago.She said that Zambia recently issued its debut Euro Bond which was oversubscribed by 15% , amounting to basically $12billion worth of investment and she was sure that was also the way Uganda and all the rest of the frontier markets were moving towards.

Mr. Phillip Wabulya, Executive Director Operations Edwin was invited to talk about the Diaspora Bond. He explained

fi rst that in 1993, the government had liberalized the economy, when just $50,000 could move the entire market of Uganda and the exchange rate would be up. The trade has changed positively and the capital markets right now demand a Diaspora bond because a lot of Ugandans are looking for other investment avenues and products beside the usual real estate.

Mr Wabulya further said that Uganda has an active secondary market whereby government securities are being traded. In addition, the Minister of Finance is committed to build skills and investment opportunities, and the Bank of Uganda via the UK Convention, aims to raise awareness and to look forward to the implementation of the Diaspora bond in the near future.

Mr Wabulya explained how people in the Diaspora will be able to buy or sell the Diaspora bond after its introduction, and how they will be able to access it from outside Uganda. He cited that from July 2011, Uganda received about $252million

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of investment in the fi nancial markets in the bonds and treasury bills. He assured investors and Ugandans that it is already happening, that the opportunities are there and other shrewd investors were taking advantage of them, rather than looking at only infrastructure, housing and the like.

Mr Wabulya also said that Uganda Stock exchange (USE) realized that in Uganda, a lot of the fi nancial markets are based in the commercial banks. Bank of Uganda, Uganda Securities Exchange and Capital Markets Authority are currently discussing and exploring the best way to make it work. He said “we have what we call a central depository system that we hope will give access to a lot of investors to invest electronically into the government of Uganda securities and equity market, which will be operative in the next few months.”

Regarding threshold of investment, Mr Wabulya said that currently, foreign investors hold 15% of the government stock of government securities. A foreign investor can invest from as low as UgShs 100,000 without any maximum limit.

Concerning the minimum and maximum investment allowed for the Ugandans in the Diaspora, Mr Wabulya gave the following example: £100 a month totals £1200 a year; during the recent infl ation where interest rates were as high as 25%, Ugandans who would have invested 1million UgShs shillings would have earned UgShs 250, 000. He stressed that no other investment right now can offer that amount of money anywhere in the world.

Lastly, Mr Wabulya addressed the worries of fraud, non- compliance of regulations and how to mitigate any risk from mismanagement of funds, which were put forward by some delegates. He revealed that every investor he had visited recently said that the Bank of Uganda pursued a very strong monetary policy that has insulated commercial banks from the problems that could have happened. He explained that banks in Uganda are suffi ciently capitalized and have enough liquidity to meet the obligations. He added that BOU has a very strong supervision team headed by Mrs Justine Bagyenda that does not tolerate any fl exibility in terms of any breaches in the requirement.

The moderator invited Derek Smail of Homestrings (www.homestrings.com) to make a contribution focusing on investment and getting good return on investment.

Derrick started by saying that the Diaspora, who sent money home with a tune of more than $768m in 2010, wanted to invest in their own country’s manufacturing, export, etc and that the actual ability to do that was about 17% or 12%, and that much ended up being invested in subsistence only.

To match up these expectations, Homestrings.com was set up as an investment vetted platform which helps investors looking for opportunities, and enables government and private agencies to promote their products like bonds, Diaspora bonds, equity funds, public private partnerships projects and government initiatives.

Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, The minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development said that the African Development Bank issued a local currency note of Shs125billion on the Ugandan Stock Market in a bid to raise funds for different projects funded by the bank. She was pleased to share that Uganda is only the second country in Africa 9after South Africa) where Africa Development Bank has felt that there was enough credit rating. She said that if Uganda’s credit rating was good enough for ADP, it should be good enough for the Diaspora. The delegates applauded with happiness.

Mr. Phillip Wabulya further commented on how the interest rates are determined in Uganda. He clarifi ed two types of investors: those investing less that 10million Ug Shs ( $4000) who buy at the set price; and those who invest over

10million Ug Shs, who are entitled to bid for a price which later determines the prices. The interest rates really depend on the players in the market at the time, and on the prices they are willing to take for the amounts that are offered in the market.

A delegate asked the panel to defi ne the Diaspora Bond in lay man’s terms. Mr. Wabulya clarifi ed that the Diaspora bond is a bond, or a paper, that people, not living in the country, can invest in, and is normally used to raise funds for infrastructure development. For example, they can raise money for a particular road project, and the people allowed to invest are those not living in Uganda, which defi nes it as a Diaspora bond. This bond will normally have yearly tenures between 3- 15 years, as it normally is a long time investment.

One delegate wanted to know the mitigation measures taken against faithless bankers that may manipulate the rate only to reward the investor at a lower rate than the actual rate of profi t.

Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, The minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development addressed this concern simply by referring to the Financial Times newspaper, rating Uganda as the best low-risk investment country in East Africa, which should put to rest all doubts and questions on the risk factor.

Phillip Wabulya added to the Minister’s point by saying that Uganda’s credit rating is done by the well-known credit rating agencies Fitch (www.fi tchratings.com) and Standard and Poors (www.standardandpoors.com). He pointed out that the ratings Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia received from similar rating agencies quickly showed that there is an advantage of investing in Uganda, compared to those countries.

Derek Smail from Homestrings fi nally said that Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique have Diaspora bonds, and that what Uganda currently has is a 91 day Treasury bill which is paying 12% on an annual basis. He added that after the Convention, he was going to invest in a 91 day Republic of Uganda treasury bill simply because he understood a little bit more about Uganda, and he thought that Uganda needs it, Uganda deserves it and is safer!

The session was concluded by the Minister of Finance thanking the panelists and the delegates who patiently listened to the vast information shared with them.Video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ugandansinuk

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Multi Sector Discussion:

Health, Agro- and HorticultureAn overview of investment opportunities in the Agriculture and Horticulture and and emerging opportunities for Health professionals

The Moderator: Estella Makumbi

Panellists: • Dr. Samuel Mugasi Chief executive

offi cer of National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS)

• Dr. Atwine Diana Kanzira director of the medicines and health delivery monitoring unit

• Mr. Deus Muhwezi assistant commissioner in charge of agribusiness

• Dr. Sarah Nkonge Muwonge senior private secretary, director of land matters

• Mr. Donald Banks GCSED founder and managing director.

Ms Makumbi invited Dr. Mugasi to tell the delegates about the opportunities the NAADS programme has for Ugandans in the Diaspora.

Dr. Mugasi thanked the moderator for the introduction and started his presentation by asking the delegates how many of them would like to invest in agriculture after listening to the minister’s speech.

He went on to say that NAADS is an agency under the ministry of agriculture in Uganda that is mandated with the provision of agricultural extension and advisory services. The agency helps farmers access improved technologies and benefi t from existing value chains. If delegates were to invest in agriculture in Uganda, they would benefi t from the services of NAADS. Beyond the services, the agency has a commercialisation fund; funds offered to potential investors on a competitive basis if they invest in particular areas such as value addition. NAADS has some limited funds put aside for private public partnerships mainly in the area of value addition this could be in food, grain or dairy processing for example. He informed delegates that if they came to Uganda the agency will be able to provide information on how to benefi t from its services and how it can support investors in their agricultural investments. NAADS can also provide information on potential enterprises. The agency has carried out studies and can provide advice on which enterprises to invest in since the agency has statistics and profi tability analyses done in this area.

Ms. Makumbi thanked Dr. Mugasi for his quick presentation and highlighted the fact that the information on public private partnerships was well received by the delegates. She then invited Mr. Deus Muhwezi to tell the delegates the opportunities available to the Diaspora in the agribusiness sector.

Mr. Muhwezi acknowledged that the minister for agriculture had already adequately outlined most of the investment opportunities available in the agricultural sector. So he added that the government on case by case basis has a policy of public private partnerships in which the government will support a given project. The government also has another policy called build, own, operate and transfer; also done on a case by case basis. Under this policy the government can assist and partner with investors to promote a given project especially in agro-processing. Other incentives available to investors include no export taxes, tax exemptions if the investment is in value addition in agro-processing or products locally produced in Uganda(both income and value added tax). Tax free importation of machinery and equipment for agricultural investments (value added, agro processing) 30 kilometres outside Kampala.

In addition to what the Hon. Minister said, Mr. Muhwezi said that there are huge investment opportunities in agribusiness services such as banking and insurance, warehousing, and food and confectionary industry not only in Uganda but the entire region.

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He said Uganda already has a laborious farming community so setting up a nucleus farm or processing plant means the investor has access to a hinterland of out growers making it easier to grow into production, processing and marketing. For further information he encouraged delegates to speak to him and his colleagues after the panel and assured them that contact details would be left behind to facilitate further discussions and give further information on the incentives and opportunities available to investors in the agricultural sector. He concluded by thanking the delegates for listening to him.

Ms. Makumbi thanked Mr. Muhwezi for his remarks and noted that value addition was emphasised so she urged delegates to add value to their produce if they are to agriculture. She then invited Dr. Sarah Nkonge Muwonge to speak. She highlighted the fact that one of the challenges faced in investing in agribusiness is security of land tenure. Ms. Makumbi then asked her to tell the delegates how Ugandans in the Diaspora can get around that as they try to invest in Uganda.

Dr. Nkonge Muwonge thanked Ms. Makumbi for her introduction and went on to say that the land tenure is what discourages most investors in the Diaspora. She noted that most delegates present are absentee landlords who would like to invest or utilise their land upon returning home. Her offi ce has observed several disputes regarding land as a result of ignorance of the laws governing the land, environment, inheritance and family; misuse of power and social status(politically and fi nancially); decentralisation and creation of new districts headquarters which has turned land hitherto ignored as rural into prime urban land; corruption by public servants and forgeries by land grabbers.

These are some of the problems investors from the Diaspora might have to face. But it has been found that there are complaints

for most of the different types of land; mailo /freehold land, leasehold / public land, communal/customary and bibanjas. Bibanja owners complain against landlords who they think are not putting them into consideration when they sell their land. Land lords also complain against bibanja owners or squatters who sell land without their permission. Other problems include unlawful occupation or acquisition of land through forged letters of administration& wills, multiple sales and fraudulent transfer of agreements sales.

These problems may affect investors but the government has put in place offi ces that can work to overcome some of these challenges and turn them into opportunities. Dr. Nkonge Muwonge noted that some of the land in question is public land and about 5.1% of which is unutilised leaving a balance of 3 million capacity land. The best way to overcome these problems is to get in touch with the relevant offi ces such as the Uganda land commission, the Uganda investment authority and offi ces mandated by the government such as the Land Fraud Unit, Directorate of Land Matters and others.

At this point Ms. Makumbi the moderator, interjected and asked Dr. Nkonge Muwonge for clarifi cation on what investors can do or should do when faced with the problems she mentioned, having provided the relevant offi ces. Dr. Nkonge Muwonge then advised delegates to go to the offi ces she mentioned earlier if faced with any land problems.

The moderator thanked Dr. Nkonge Muwonge for her contributions and asked Dr. Atwine to tell the delegates about the opportunities available in the health sector.

Dr. Atwine introduced herself and informed the delegates that her job is to monitors health services in Uganda. She stressed that despite the things that are heard and seen in the news, there are good things happening in the health sector in Uganda. There are currently attempts to put right the problems in the health sector

so that investors can come to the country with a sense of confi dence in the system.

• She told delegates that currently there is medicine in all health facilities and that they are welcome to visit any health centre in the country to prove that the medicine is indeed there.

• There are several opportunities available under manufacturing, because 95% of the medicines used in the Uganda are imported. So there are investment opportunities in the area of pharmaceuticals & manufacturing for those interested.

• In terms of Infrastructural development, the government is in the process of revamping/ repair and equip most of the hospitals but there is still need for skilled labour to operate this equipment and give the expertise needed. These services can be given by the private sector with entrepreneurs putting up private hospitals. Within the next two years it is expected that ultramodern hospitals capable of carrying out cardiothoracic surgery and other highly specialised procedures. In order to do that, she encouraged individuals to come and partner with the government to provide these skills.

• Under human resources, individuals are needed not only to work in the health facilities but to train Ugandans and pass on the skills that they have. She acknowledged that there have been issues about incentives and remuneration for health workers but this is a process that the government is working on.

• In the last 5 years, the government has expanded health facilities; at the moment there are health facilities at every parish all of which require money and equipment. The next phase is the government focusing on human resource development, acquiring highly skilled labour to operate in the highly specialised hospitals / health facilities that are going to be set up. The government is encouraging public private partnerships in this area.

• The government is planning on rolling out health insurance once the policies required are in place therefore skilled labour in the fi eld of health insurance are needed to provide expertise. This is an area where labour is needed. She assured delegates that jobs would be available in this area.

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• There is need for investment in the fi eld of research and development for example vaccine development. She stressed that Uganda is free from Ebola contrary to reports in the international press. Health workers have been able to control the disease but there is need for research on such viruses and other diseases. The scientists in the Diaspora were invited to come home and carry out this research and told that there is government support available for that.

• In regard to e-health, government has invested in and is rolling out an e- health policy to enable doctors in Uganda contact specialists in other parts of the world. Skilled labour is required to implement these plans.

Donald Banks from GCSED, whose background is in International development, spoke about investment opportunities in Uganda. He asserted that commercial agriculture will be Uganda’s saviour pointing out the fact there are 5.1 million hectares of agricultural land of which 2.1 million are being utilised. Of that number only 5% of it is irrigated and can be used for food production. He said that malnutrition can be reduced by increasing food production through irrigating the land an increasing the amount of land available for irrigation. 85% of Uganda’s labour work in agriculture mainly subsistence. He stressed that to improve agricultural productivity skills development is the answer. Commercial agriculture needs to work with skills development to make the situation better. His organisation has spent the last 5 months negotiating the purchase of 250,000 hectares of agricultural land matched up with a skills development programme for young men aimed at ensuring that some of the allocation of land goes to domestic production to reduce malnutrition.

There is so much opportunity of commercialising agriculture however there are problems such as land. Enterprise management programmes are needed to encourage farmers to improve the quality of their produce. Introduce co-operatives,

Questions:

The moderator then opened the panel discussion to the house and the fi rst delegate asked how the government could help a prospective investor in the poultry business? He was baffl ed at how a country like Uganda could be importing poultry from Brazil and South Africa.

The second delegate simply suggested that the government establish a website where the latest information on developments in the health sector are provided since there was a lot that Dr. Atwine wanted to say in an insuffi cient amount of time.

The last question was from Prof. Fred Wabamba, a higher education professional, who highlighted the fact that most of the panellists mentioned the need for skills in Uganda. However he added that having decided to return home, the people within the country were not welcoming to members of the Diaspora returning to Uganda. The process of transferring his belongings to Uganda took 9 months many of which were of no use to him by the time they arrived. He suggested that if the government really requires the skills and knowledge that members of the Diaspora have, then the country should be more welcoming to those members of the Diaspora returning home.

The moderator thanked the delegates for the questions and invited the panellists to answer the questions.

In response to the fi rst question, one of the panellists said that there is a huge investment opportunity in the country and region for poultry and poultry products such as breeding one day old chicks most of which are currently being imported. There is government support depending on the level of the investment, such as free land and tax free importation of equipment in the production and processing of poultry. These incentives are also available for the area of breeding. Poultry is one of the enterprises mentioned by the Hon. Minister earlier, identifi ed as one of the key areas both in the local and regional markets. Animal feeds an enterprise needed by the poultry subsector is also one of the areas that qualify for government support depending on the scale of the project.

The moderator hoped that the fi rst question was adequately answered and went on to the second question; Dr.

Atwine offered to be the link between the delegates and the health sector. She gave her contact details as well as a 24 hour toll free telephone number to those who had any issues or question on the health sector in Uganda but added that she was not representing the ministry of health and was acting in her capacity as a monitor. There is a dashboard and call centre that deal with all complaints concerning service delivery. Her offi ce could be a link to the ministry of health and other health offi ces.

In regard to the third question, the speaker of parliament appreciated the issues raised by the delegate and promised to create a small desk in the foreign affairs committee to deal with the Diaspora specifi cally in parliament. She also pledged to inform the government that it has not done the necessary to enable those in the Diaspora to “land softly” when they return home.

The moderator thanked the speaker of parliament for answering the question very well and invited the Hon. Minister of agriculture to give a few remarks on land security and close the panel.

The minister thanked the moderator and made two main points by way of conclusion. He assured prospective investors coming to Uganda of land security for their investments in ranching or commercial agriculture, in terms of proper processing of land. He stated that he did not expect the delegates to return and join the peasantry, he expects large scale production.

He welcomed investors to come and invest in agriculture at various levels depending on their preferences; at primary production, early value addition, manufacturing, technology that promote agriculture ,seed production, animal vaccines, fertiliser. But high levels of intervention are expected of prospective investors given their experience, training and opportunity. He concluded by thanking the delegates for listening.

The moderator thanked the Hon. Minister and the distinguished panel for the information and advice given, she also thanked the audience for being very participative and involved in the discussions that took place.


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Comments from some Guests

A big thank youOn behalf of GTFA I would like to thank you very much for the opportunity you gave us to take part in the convention. I have taken long getting back to you due to other full time duties but the exposure you gave us was a boost in the drive to excel.

Tomorrow 3rd of November 2012 we are having a youth forum in memory of the late Kevin Ssali, a 14 year-old-boy who died recently. Ideas obtained from the convention will be applied and we hope to do more. Thank you.

Sarah NgomaGift Talented

A great opportunityIt was a pleasure moderating on the second Ugandan Convention UK, my gratitude for being given the opportunity. I also gladly look forward to the 2013 convention and hope that it is even a greater success.

Once again, thank you and my regards,

Edwin Senjobe Moderator: Financial Markets

Very inspiringThanks a lot for inviting me to participate in such a great event.

I found the convention very inspiring and was a good get together for Ugandans. The fact that you were able to mobilize such high caliber of Ugandas to the level of Speaker, First Lady, Ministers, MPs, Ambassadors, shows that you are well organised. I hope it opened up the level of understanding of the people in the diaspora on local issues especially on potential investment.

Since I came back, a number of investors have corresponded showing interest in investing in real estate in Uganda. This is a testimony that the convention was successful and had impact.

My only comments on improvement are as follows:

(1) Time for panelists was too short - The panelist should be given a bit more time- at least 5-7

minutes otherwise- it is diffi cult to summarise all the issues on potential investment in just 3 minutes. (2) Moderators - My moderator ( i.e Mr Kibazo) was very professional and did a good job.

(3) Discussions_ The discussions on Diaspora bonds were diffi cult to follow- You may need to circulate advance information on such diffi cult topics in future. Apart from those few comments, I want to congratulate you very much for a job well done. Hoping to see you next August Amb Agnes KalibbalaDirector for HousingMinistry of Lands

Heartfelt AppreciationThank you for granting Africa Job Station a complimentary exhibition table at the recent convention. We received a lot of good publicity and learned valuable lessons to take our cause forward in a more effective manner.

We appreciate the good work you are doing in organising the convention as a whole.

Once again, thanks for the complimentary table. I trust we shall continue to build a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Kind regards,

Moses OtimOperations

www.fricajobstation.com

A great platformI applaud you all for organising such a big event and making it possible is a credit. However short comings are expected and to improve you need to learn from any mistakes made and getting positive feed backs. I for one enjoyed the day’s programme however I would suggest the organiser should come up with resolutions or form

up committees to follow up ideas brought up or challenged by the participants so that such information should be addressed and brought back to the next convention. The convention should be used as platform between Ugandans living in the Diaspora and the Uganda government and both parties should be learning from each other and solve problems through dialogue. Otherwise, well done guys I am looking forward for the 3rd convention next year. Daniel Kazibwe Hackneyhomes.org.uk

Great workI would like to thank the organising team for the great work you have done for the past 2 years in organising the Uganda Convention UK event. It has been an eye opener to many of us who have decided to return back home after the 1st convention. However, there is a lot of unanswered questions as to whether this is becoming another social gathering for Ugandans to meet Ministers who just come to speak to us but do not take what we suggest they need do to seriously. Since our first convention, very little has been done by the Ugandan Government other than just talking and promising.

Ugandan Diasporas need to get involved in the policy development in Uganda if anything is to change in Uganda.

How I wish the First Lady attended the afternoon sessions to hear what Ugandans have to say and probably take the feedback to His Excellence the President herself? Is it possible that you can invite His Excellence the President to come and address the Ugandan Diaspora at the next convention in 2013?

Did you know that whereas the Ugandan Government has approved the dual nationality act that there are very serious concerns ever since this was approved in

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parliament? Did you know that any Ugandan Diaspora who has a foreign passport and owning land in Uganda is owning it illegally according to this dual citizenship act as foreigners are not allowed to own land and property in Uganda under Mailo land?

Hon. Oryem lived here in the UK and as a lawyer, he should surely see what is wrong with the current dual citizenship act and should be advocating for its amendment.

Why is Ugandan government more interested in foreign investors than Ugandan investors? Why UIA were not present at the convention to tell us what they value and how they plan to attract many of us to return home and take part in the economic development of the country than advocating for only foreign investors? I also recommend that the event should be run for at least 2 days as the time allocated for each speaker is not enough to discuss anything that would make sense to the delegates. If the issue is the costs involved in organising the event, let the government pay for this event as it will network and hear the views of the Ugandan diasporas so that it becomes a more useful event. Kind regards

Professor Fred Walemba

Thank youJust a quick note to say thank you for organising the wonderful convention.

Please could you also thank a lady called ~Sophie who organised a table for my exihibitor Rupert – it was very much appreciated, he had a good turn up for inquiries and to top it all up a very good time in the evening.

Kind Regards,

Josephine Nakato BSc (Hons)Westminster City Council

Congratulations Willy Thank you for inviting me to the Uganda Convention. I found it interesting and worthwhile attending.

I wish you continued success. Warm regards

Subhash V Thakrar B Com FCA Senior partner Blackstone Franks LLP Chairman London Chamber of Commerce and Industry

We missed outCongratulations on the very successful Uganda Uk Convention!

Its one opportunity PIBID missed!!!

Regards,

Jolly Gonahasa

We loved our 1st LadyI want to take this oppotunity to thank you for organising such a wonderfull function and protecting our 1st lady Hon Kataha Museveni and Rt. Hon Kadaga, our two great ladies by your private body guards who did a wonderfull job. keep that up.

Ruth Wanyana

Success againThank you very much indeed for organizing the Uganda-UK Convention 2012 - the event was indeed a resounding success. I would be keen to organize follow up meetings with the speakers

named below, as I am keen to invite them to Oxford University to speak at an Oxford Entrepreneurs event.

• Hon. Maria Kiwanuka: Minister of Finance

• Sebaggala Kigozi: UMA• Hon Daudi Migereko: Minister

of Lands• Philip Wabulaya: Bank of

Uganda• Kenneth Egesa: Bank of

Uganda• Deus Muhwezi: Commissioner

Agribusiness• Sammuel Mugasi: CEO

NAADs

Many Thanks,

Elizabeth NyekoDirector, Oxford Entrepreneurswww.oxfordentrepreneurs.co.uk

Proud of youDear Chairman, I have been informed of the success of the Convention.This is therefore, to congratulate you and your team for having staged yet another successful Ugandan event in the UK.

Regards,

Ambassador Danny M. SsoziDeputy Head of MissionEmbassy of the Rep. of Uganda DENMARK

We need you back homeHello, thanks very much for that kind of innovation and a reminder to many that east/west home the best.

Kawuki simon peter

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2ND UGANDA UK CONVENTION

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Following the Convention 2012, many important issues were raised and accordingly, planned resolutions were made to address them. They are as follows:

1. Establish a fast track desk at

Entebbe Airport for Ugandans from the Diaspora, who often encounter a lot of hostilities from immigration officers. Rt. Hon. Kadaga pledged to inform the government that it has not done the necessary to enable those in the Diaspora to “land softly” when they return home.

2. Agriculture sector: Hon. Tress Bucyanayandi, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is asked to serialise opportunities in the agriculture sector and update them regularly on their website, and also list skills and career gaps in the sector to enable skills and knowledge transfer from the Diaspora. Delegates particularly wanted to know how to access NAADS financial support and partnership, and are requesting a dedicated page on NAADS website solely for Diaspora investors.

3. Trade and Business representative: Nominate a Diaspora representative at the Presidential Investors Round Table (PIRT)

4. Parliament: The Speaker promised to create a small desk in the foreign affairs committee to deal specifically

with the Diaspora in parliament, to represent and advocate for policies affecting Diasporans.

5. Investment Inventory: Regularly publish development and opportunities available in Uganda, particularly for Diaspora SMEs, as a way of promoting incentives for Diasporans to invest back home.

Diaspora investments are likely to be an economic decision, generated by self-interest and driven by profit motives, even though a philanthropic element and investments in social projects might also be present. More emphasis needs to be put on Diaspora investment, encouraging them to tap into the available opportunities, to promote more FDI.

• Have a classification system for the most pressing investment opportunities for the Diaspora, and investment opportunities with the highest ROI, but needing minimal capital investment, that Diasporans can afford.

6. Diaspora Investor: Formulate a new category and classification of Diaspora investor and reduce the threshold of capital needed to qualify. This is due to the fact that Ugandans in the Diaspora do not have the required capital to qualify as full investors and yet need to tap into the incentives given to other investors.

7. Access to finance: Establishing, as an incentive, a Fund to provide grants, loans, technical assistance and support to individual Diasporans, networks, and communities for Diaspora-led development projects to be implemented in Uganda.

8. Tender: Allow Diasporans with companies in the West to bid for tenders to promote competitive and non-discriminatory rates to all potential providers.• Mr. Sebaggala M. Kigozi,

Executive Director – Uganda Manufacturing Association (UMA) should

list feasible investment in micro manufacturing projects to enable Diasporans with minimal capital to exploit them.

9. Dual Citizenship: Delegates unanimously agreed to lobby to waive the dual citizenship fee and asked Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga to lobby the parliament to achieve it. Ugandans in the Diaspora feel it is not acceptable that they have to buy their right to be Ugandan, or to naturalise as Ugandan, since it is their birth right any way. Under the current 1995 constitution, it confirms that a person is Ugandan if he/she is born in Uganda to one of the parents or grandparents is or was a member of any of the indigenous communities existing and residing within the borders of Uganda as at the first day of February, 1926, and set out in the Third Schedule to this Constitution; and every person born in or outside Uganda, one of whose parents or grandparents was at the time of birth a citizen of Uganda. Therefore, having a British Passport does not take away the right to be Ugandan.

Regarding the right to vote, the Diaspora wants to have access to the home country’s political decisions and to have their specific interests represented.

10. Land and property rights: According to Mr. Alenyo Marshall (Senior immigration officer), Ugandans who have not taken out dual citizenship certificate don’t have a right to own land under the mailo land and freehold arrangement. However, Diasporans who have lost their citizenship or if their spouse is not Ugandan, still want to have the right to buy land and property under freehold terms. (In Uganda, only citizens have land ownership rights. The 1995 Constitution does not allow foreigners to own land freehold. They may, however, obtain leases for 49 or 99 years.)

Due to many Diasporans falling prey to land conmen, Dr. Sarah Nkonge is requested to facilitate the

Feedback Action Points and Resolutions

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A big thank you! The Organizing Committee of The Ugandan UK Convention wishes to express their deepest appreciation to the First Lady of the Republic of Uganda and Minister for Karamoja Affairs Hon. Mrs. Janet Kataaha Museveni, Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga, Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Hon Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Tress Bucyanayandi, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa, Minister of State for Fisheries, Hon. Amongin Aporu Christine (MP) – Minister of State for Teso Affairs, Baroness Lynda Chalker of Wallasey, Mr. Bernard Magulu,Oriental Bank, Dr. Samuel Mugasi, CEO – NAADS, Mr. Sebaggala M. Kigozi, ED, Uganda Manufacturing Association and the many speakers, panelists and moderators . The important messages that they shared contributed to the tremendous success of the day, and have been instrumental in meeting the goals and objectives of the Convention.

Special thanks go, in addition, to all High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Europe, the business community, the Uganda community and community leaders, professionals from Europe and Uganda, representatives of the voluntary sector and all our exhibitors who showcased Uganda on the day. You have all paved the way forward for enhanced and enriched communication between members of the Ugandan Diaspora and Uganda itself, and have also, undoubtedly brought Ugandans in the UK closer together.

Thanks go also to all visitors, who through their attendance, acknowledged the crucial role that the Diaspora has to play in the development of Uganda, and with whom a definite way forward can now be etched to fully participate in Ugandan affairs in the most fruitful and successful way.

Thanks go to all volunteers who helped to make it possible and whose support and contributions are highly appreciated.

And thanks to all those, too many to mention, who, in one way or another, have given their encouragement and shared ideas to make this second Uganda UK Convention a truly outstanding success.

Finally we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to our sponsors, service providers and exhibitors. Just to mention a few; Brussels Airlines, LycaMobile, JOMAYI, Western union, Arilio Chili, Signware, Exceline Catering Services, Okusinza Mu Luganda Church, Greenwich School of Management, Terrence Higgins Trust, Herit Watt University, Barnes Harrild & Dyer Solicitors, MM2 Capital, IPS Legal, Golden Light 4 Elderly, MoneyLine, Moneygram, World Remit, City Holiday, Beverly Hills Motel (Uganda), Afri Mobile, Ebony Courts, The Promota Media, Action Wealth and CJ Reilly.

The same goes to the media that supported and gave us unlimited exposure throughout the year. These include New Vision, Bukedde, New African, Red Pepper, Fenon, Hipipo, Sporah Show, Connect Uganda, Uganda Vision just to mention a few.

establishment of a Diaspora land desk to deal with issues arising from land disputes and challenges from Ugandans in the Diaspora.• A desk in the land’s Registry or presidential office

dedicated to Diaspora land issues needs to be established to mitigate the risks Diasporans face of losing their land to unscrupulous people, and to deal with the resulting problems of dishonest land dealings. This crucial step will promote more investment from the Diaspora in infrastructure and asset investments.

• Ambassador Agnes Kalibbala, Director for Housing - Ministry of Lands and Housing was asked to initiate a scheme which explores opportunities in her Ministry and dedicate a page for Diasporans.

11. Diaspora Bond: The Diaspora wants to involve one of their members as a consultant in the early planning stages of the Diaspora Bonds. This will iron out drop-backs that can jeopardise its success and will also help to avail comprehensive information about the scheme. It was asked that contact details of relevant departments and personnel in Uganda should be made available for interested Diaspora members, either to enquire about the scheme or share their views on it.

12. Diaspora Human capital: Brain drain and diasporic human capital are of concern, not only in quantitative but also qualitative terms. The government should set up an incentive for all government organizations to give priority of job vacancies to Diasporans. This is the way to encourage knowledge and skill transfer back home to mitigate the brain drain, which leaves gaps in the higher segments of the local labour market, causing shortages in sectors most important to the country’s socio-economic advancement. It was asked to make available a comprehensive list of opportunities, such as the program that Diaspora department in partnership with World Bank is spearheading, to professionalise some sectors such as roads and railways, with a need to recruit from the Diaspora.

13. Youth inclusion: Promote youth exchange programs to raise awareness of issues facing the Ugandan youth, and how the UK youth can assist their Ugandan counterparts, and to learn from one another, especially on good values derived from both cultural.

Youth and Business: Uganda recently established a youth venture capital fund; youth whose parents have dual-citizenship should have access to the venture capital fund in Uganda. This will boost Diaspora youth participation in the development of the country, and also become an incentive for them to look at Uganda for opportunities.

14. Acculturate: The government is asked to support initiatives that acculturate nationalistic attitudes into the Ugandan Diaspora’s youth, so that they feel attached to Uganda. This will encourage the next generation to view Uganda as a mother country, rather than “a country somewhere over there, that Mum and Dad keep on talking about”, as Hon Maria Kiwanuka so aptly quoted.

15. Diaspora tourism: Mr. Seguya is asked to establish Diaspora permits with concessions to encourage Diaspora tourism.

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anda

n Convent ion

UK

United We Can


About the Convention:

Uganda Convention UK’s vision is to harness the tremendous skills, expertise and knowledgebase of the Ugandan Di-aspora with a view to promote socio-eco-nomic and infrastructural development back in Uganda.

Objectives:• Promote the exchange of informa-

tion, research and expertise and en-courage new business interaction and relationships

• Identify potential opportunities in Uganda and mobilise Ugandans in the Diaspora to invest back home

and increase the role of Ugandan Di-aspora in Uganda’s development

• Seek investment opportunities in public and private organizations within Uganda, the United Kingdom and Europe and inform Ugandans in the Diaspora

• Utilize the intellectual and fi nancial capital of the Diaspora for the pur-pose of improving the livelihood of all Ugandans

• Raise awareness of fi nancial services available for small to medium sized businesses in Uganda and the United Kingdom.

• Lobby and infl uence the Ugandan

government to tap into the “vast ex-pertise” of Ugandan professionals in Europe, to hasten Uganda’s socio-economic development

• Encourage Ugandans in the Dias-pora to promote a positive image of their nation

• Mentor Ugandan youths in the Di-aspora to instill in them a sense of nationalism and become responsible citizens

• Create awareness of scholarship pro-grams designed for the development of Uganda

• Inspire and encourage a unity among Ugandans in Europe

UK Office: 12 Eric Wilkins House

Avondale SquareOld Kent Rd SE1 5ES

Tel: +44207 237 7317+44 7790647089

Uganda Contact: Mr. Bernard Magulu

Tel: +256 754410559

UGANDAN UK CONVENTION

Mr. Willy MutenzaChairmanTel: (44) 207 237 7317 Mob: +447950 285 493Email: info@ugandanconventionuk.orgwww.ugandanconventionuk.orgwww.ugandanconventionuk.org/youth