UNBS given 90 days to save its offices from debtors

By Andante Okanya

UGANDA National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has been granted an extension of 90 days to save its headquarters from auction over a $1m(sh3.5b) debt owed to a Japanese vehicle inspector.

This year on August 31, court bailiffs from Nile General Auctioneers issued a notice for auction of Standards House and the four-acre piece of land comprised therein, located on Block 227 Plot 2-12 Bypass Link at Bweyogerere Buto Road.

The notice was to the effect that the imposing sh8.2b building located  in the Bweyogerere Industrial Park would be sold in an auction if the debt was not settled.

On Wednesday, Richard Nsubuga, the lawyer representing Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre(JEVIC), told New Vision that UNBS requested for 90 days to find a lasting solution.

“Two weeks ago, UNBS was given an extension of 90 days, as the owners of the company come and negotiate,” Nsubuga said.

Also on Wednesday, UNBS executive director Dr Ben Manyindo  confirmed to New Vision, that government had engaged JEVIC in discussions to reach a truce.

“Government is discussing with the aggrieved party to find ways of settling the debt amicably,”Manyindo said.

The court bailiffs were contracted by the law firm Nsubuga and Company Advocates and Legal Consultants, representing Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre(JEVIC).

The Executions and Bailiffs division of the High Court in Kampala, authorised the auction, following the 2012 Commercial Court award of $1m to JEVIC against UNBS for breach of contract.

In 2008, UNBS contracted JEVIC to implement road worthiness inspection of vehicles in Japan destined for shipment to Uganda.

In the UNBS directive, JEVIC was to charge $145. But importers of used cars from Japan complained of not getting value for money, contenting that they re fix their vehicles even after certification from JEVIC.

Additionally, the importers demanded the inspection be conducted in Uganda, noting that the Japanese economy was the beneficiary.

The importers lamented that the faulty cars could be fixed using local labour, which would in effect generate jobs for locals.

But in 2009, the Pre-Shipment Verification for Conformity to Standards scheme, was halted by the then Trade and Industry minister Kahinda Otafiire after importers complained of the increased the cost of doing business.

The complex was commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni last year in October, as part of festivities to mark 25 years of UNBS.