UIA to assess impact of COVID-19 on businesses for economic interventions

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is assessing the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on businesses. The assessment is aimed at justifying required economic interventions due to the virus.

Lawrence Byensi, the UIA Director General says the assessment will be used to support policy advocacy and investment services that will bring a better business environment and recovery of impacted businesses.

Byensi in an interview with Uganda Radio Network (URN) says that although it is obvious the COVID-19 lockdown has affected businesses, this assessment will provide credible data that will help with interventions if any like stimulating business recovery and sustained resilience.

He says this will be done through a one month online survey which started last week and investment owners will be asked to fill a form on how their business has been affected.

According to UIA, the targeted businesses are those that are licensed with the authority and have invested in businesses but this does not include traders. Some of these include; accommodation and food services, financial and insurance activities, agriculture, mining and quarrying, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, manufacturing, Education, health and construction among others.

Byensi says the main idea is to get facts which can be used to make recommendations of what can be done since COVID-19 has very serious implications on the economy.

He says at a higher level, these are some of the things to be based on if any support to the economy is to happen as the assessment will look at the total impact of the COVID-19 and lockdown.

Byensi says over time they have been profiling investors and this is the list they will go with. He says this will not leave out small medium Enterprises who will be identified to participate as long as they have invested.

In the assessment, UIA will look at the measures adopted by the investment companies in the course of COVID-19, contingency measures to ensure that the companies run even after the pandemic.

They will also ascertain how if the businesses have the financial capacity to operate and for how long the resources can last.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many parts of the world including Uganda is in  a lock down which has had an economic doom.

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URN