Manufacturers push for better business climate

Aug 16, 2014

Steel manufacturers are asking government to push for stiffer reforms to better the business environment and support the rising industrial sector to increase employment.

By David Mugabe


Steel manufacturers are asking government to push for stiffer reforms to better the business environment and support the rising industrial sector to increase employment.


They have also proposed that Uganda follow the path of Kenya and protect the local steel industry against cheap and substandard imports by slapping duty rates from 0% and 10% to 25% on imports which can be found at home .


The proposals are part of a raft of suggestions they view will enable steel products makers and other manufacturers to remain in the market and save the needed jobs.


Stuart Mwesigwa, Roofings business development manager said dealers of cheap imports are killing chances for foreign exchange earnings through export and employment.


“We need protection from substandard products which distort the market,” noted Mwesigwa adding that because some of their inputs are sourced from Japan and South Africa, the costs of the imports go up by an additional $110 compared to Kenya.


Roofings which is the largest steel maker in Uganda hosted parliament committee on tourism, trade and industry on Wednesday at the Namanve plant in the industrial park.


They have also advised that URA through government introduces an electronic tax register (ETR) to control the evasion of VAT which will result into increased tax revenues.


An ETR ensures that all essential data such as totals of each tax category and the total turn-over for each day are permanently stored in a fiscal memory.


The procedure, they suggest can be piloted among the makers of plastics, steel and iron construction materials.


Flavia Kabahenda, chairperson of the committee and Kyegegwa legislator who led the legislators urged steel manufacturers to work closely with other lobby groups like PSFU to push for changes in the fiscal (tax) policy before the budget is passed.
She however promised that they will lobby government for these changes.


Ajok Lucy, Apac woman parliamentarian called for stiffer controls that can deter inferior products from entering the country because some lethal ones like foodstuffs have ended up on shop shelves and people’s homes exposing them to sometimes dangerous products.


Mwesigwa also pointed out the struggles and loses they deal with due to poor quality of electricity despite the firm being one of the biggest consumers of power.


“When there is a dip or rise in voltage, the steel strips break and rods ban, this is when the damage is done,” he explained saying the resulting losses are in thousands of dollars within minutes.  Consuming about 40MW annually, Roofings foots a sh2b monthly bill on electricity monthly.


Roofings says they have recently been granted license for iron ore exploration that they applied for almost two years ago- a development that if actualized will go a long way in enabling them source for local steel inputs without having to import.

 

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