Government has committed to reducing the cost of doing business in Uganda.
In his speech delivered to delegates by Hon Amos Lugoloobi the State Minister of Finance, Hon. Matia Kasaija the Minister for Finance Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) said is already doing this, by increasing access to affordable long-term capital.
According to Kasaija, the government will also create opportunities for the private sector in public programs, and enforce standards which will be done by harmonizing the coordination of private sector associations and umbrella bodies plus strengthening the enabling environment.
This was during the launch of the 2nd National Strategy for Private Sector Development in Kampala on Thursday.
The Finance Ministry is mandated to formulate sound economic policies, maximize revenue mobilization, and to also ensure efficient allocation of public resources for sustainable economic growth and development.
To achieve the above mandate, the Ministry engages with several stakeholders on an annual basis through private sector dialogues like the National Competitiveness Forum (NCF) aimed at communicating the National Economic Development Agenda (NEDA).
The 2022 forum which was the 13th in the series was held under the theme “Leveraging strategic export markets to boost investments for import substitution and export diversification opportunities”.
Kasaija also highlighted that the intervention of this 2nd strategy is to be grouped into three pillars which include boosting investors’ confidence, accelerating industrialization, and also increasing profitability and firm growth.
“In this strategy, we should also focus and monitor the issue of factor productivity very critically because it helps us to compete with the best of the best and if we miss it out we might easily miss out on the competitiveness of the micro sector and the entire macroeconomy” the Minister added.
On implementing this strategy, the Minister echoed that they’re to adopt a unique service delivery-focused approach such that improved standards are realized as soon as possible.
“I have established a multi-stakeholder platform with the secretariat to coordinate the implementation of this strategy and ensure that each objective is achieved” he added.
In his remarks, Gen. David Kasura the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) tasked the private sector to also improve on their standards as this will help a smooth acceleration of the economy.
Gen. Kasura also used this opportunity to warn all those having agricultural counterfeit products on the market that as Ministry they have launched an attack on them because it’s everyone’s responsibility to improve the private sector.
Godwin Kakama the Commissioner of Budget Policy noted that innovation is critical to the survival of enterprises and a key component of competitiveness, further he advised that the policy agenda must emphasize building capacity for innovations, formalizing enterprises, and also incubating new technologies.
The 2021 forum focused on competitiveness and private sector performance in Uganda and it drew its lessons from global best practices and it provided the basis for the implementation of the Parish Development Model.
