Parliament passes Local Content Bill, gives priority to EAC goods

Mar 29, 2023

The MPs amended clause 4 of the bill, which provided for preferential treatment to Ugandan goods, works, and services over goods made in the East African Community.  

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among chairing plenary. (Photo by Miriam Namutebi)

Henry Sekanjako
Journalist @New Vision

UGANDA | PARLIAMENT | PASSES | LOCAL CONTENT BILL

Parliament has passed the Local Content Bill 2022 into law, giving priority to goods and services produced in the East African Community (EAC) as opposed to only goods produced in Uganda. 

The bill, which was first introduced in the 9th Parliament, has been returned to the House for reconsideration by President Yoweri Museveni over its contradiction with various EAC trade protocols, such as the Common Market Protocol, which provides for the elimination of trade barriers. 

Museveni returned the bill to Parliament for a second time and raised concern over sections that he deemed to conflict with the spirit of the East African Community Protocol on the free movement of goods and services. 

In his accompanying letter dated January 19, 2023, to the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, the President pointed out over 15 sections of the Bill that he wanted to be reviewed and the reasons for review.  

He argued that the sections of the bill needed to be brought into compliance with the constitution, the East African Community Treaty, and other legislation, to avoid implementation and application challenges. 

Chaired by Speaker Among, the House on Wednesday passed the Bill after adopting most of the recommendations as advised by the President. 

The MPs amended clause 4 of the bill, which provided for preferential treatment to Ugandan goods, works, and services over goods made in the East African Community. 

The East African Community brings together countries including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

“We agree with the president that, considering the commitment we have with the EAC Treaty, Article 76, and at the same time the monetary union protocol, which we signed as a community, we ask that clause 4 be amended,” Enosi Assimwe, the Kabula County MP, said. 

The President recommended that the clause be amended to read East African Community goods and services instead of Ugandan goods and services. 

The Bill then collapsed in the 10th Parliament and was re-tabled in the 11th Parliament and considered again by the Parliament’s Committee on Finance. 

The Bill’s objective is to impose local content obligations on persons or entities using public money or utilizing Uganda’s natural resources or carrying out activities requiring a licensee; to prioritize Ugandan citizens, Ugandan, and resident companies in public procurement. 

 

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