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Private sector worried
In a separate interview with The Independent, the Acting Executive Director of Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Francis Kasirinya said, members are worried about losing their money for goodds and services supplied as multi-nationals exit the market.
“We are still having petitions from members that supplied Uchumi and have never been settled,” he said, “We are going to keep an eye on Shoprite and other firms that are closing.”
Kasirinya said the exit of Shoprite and other companies is sending a bad signal to other investors eying the country as a good investment destination. He, however, said the exit of multinationals is good news to locally owned business providing the same products and services.
He also advised retail stores to watch their overhead costs especially relating to hiring foreign expatriates.
“I also encourage players in the supermarket chain space to promote Buy Uganda Build Uganda policy by sourcing locally made/produced goods and shelving them for sale,” he said.
In terms of policy interventions, Kasirinya said, government needs to incentivise or support the survival of retail stores, both local and foreign by reducing the ground rent and related charges since they occupy big spaces.
He also said, government through Uganda National Bureau of Standards, also needs to fight and eliminate counterfeit products on the market which potentially pose unfair pricing competition to retail stores selling genuine goods.
Governor Mutebile said, the outlook is highly uncertain and conditional on the availability of vaccines, the potential emergence of vaccine-resistant virus strains and a balance between containment measures and economic recovery.
Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija, said it is unfortunate that companies are closing shop in the country at the time they are needed most owed to high levels of unemployment and low tax collections.
He suggested that any struggling company should approach government for assistance to remain in business.
However, he had initially said companies were free to leave the market in the event that there return on investment was low.
At a recent public forum discussing government budget priorities for FY2021/2022, Kasaija said, government spending will target key sectors furthering economic recovery to improve the livelihoods of the people.
He promised to prioritize the restoration of business activity by increasing access to affordable capital, promoting industrialisation, enhancing the wellbeing of Ugandans through job creation and investing in productive infrastructure like ICT and other sectors.
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