SEATINI W EEKLY Newsletter

Transcription

1 SEATINI W EEKLY Newsletter Third Edition 27th 31st,July, 2015 Stakeholders engaged on utilizing the benefits of trade agreements and mitigating possible risks. On 30 th July, 2015, SEATINI Uganda in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC) organized an inter ministerial consultative forum under the theme Utilizing the benefits of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the EAC- COMESA-SADC Tripartite Tariff Offers and mitigating possible risks. The meeting brought together government officials to raise awareness on the recently concluded EPAs and COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA tariff offers and the need for government ministries, department and agencies as well as other institutions to better position Uganda to benefit from these agreements and mitigate possible risks involved. Some of the key issues from the meeting included the need to increase Uganda s productive capacity in light of market access opportunities offered by the European Union; the need for Uganda to be cautious in its tripartite negotiations because Uganda doesn t have capacity in those particular areas being offered for liberalization. Cross section view of participants during the consulta- Participants listening in during a presentation

2 P A G E 2 P A G E 2 Success story: Subcounty chief making a difference in Pajule sub county, Pader District.: Ms Akongo Stella, is a sub county chief from Pajule Sub county Pader district, she formerly worked with the Town council in Pader District. As a sub county chief she is charged with overseeing revenue mobilization, allocation and utilisation processes at the sub county. Pajule Sub County mobilizes different kinds of revenue including: market dues, fines and trading licenses. Akongo Stella participated in the training on revenue enhancement organized by SEATINI Uganda. The training took place in Kitgum District from 25 th -26 th February 2015 that discussed key topics such as: taxation and development, role of leaders in revenue enhancement, and data management. One of the key issues that Ms Akongo identified as an area of priority in Pajule Sub County was to establish a data base documenting potential tax payers. After the training, Ms Akongo embarked on mass sensitization of her communities on issues of taxation and registration of taxpayers especially the business community. After the training, I decided to first halt revenue collection of trading licences until a data base of all potential tax payers had been established. Ms. Akongo Stella, Sub County Chief, Pajule Sub county, Pader District Ms Akongo built her confidence and expertise and she was able to facilitate during civic education training organized by SEATINI Uganda and KIWEPI on 9 th and 10 th April 2015 in Pajule Sub County. She was able to articulate the issues she learnt and share experiences from the leaders training in February SEATINI Uganda with support from US Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK AID is implementing a project on enhancing opportunities for revenue mobilization and accountability for improved service delivery in Kitgum, Pader and Lamwo districts.

3 S E C O N D E D I T I O N SEATINI Uganda Participation in other Activities: P A G E Stakeholders validated a draft strategy on EAC Women in Business: On 30 th July, 2015, SEATINI Uganda participated in stakeholder s workshop to validate the EAC draft Strategy for women in Business (for the period 2015 to 2025) that was held at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala. The development of the strategy was informed by the recommendations of the 1 st East African Community (EAC). Conference on women in Business that was held in August, 2011 in Kigali, Rwanda. The workshop was organized by Ministry of East African Community Affairs in preparation for the Sectoral Council of Ministers meeting due to be organized in September, The validation workshop brought together stakeholders representing women in business, Civil Society, Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Private sector among other stakeholders. During this workshop, the lead consultant reflected on Article 121 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community which requires Partner States to enhance the role of EASSI disseminated study findings on gender analysis of EAC trade policies and regulatory frameworks: The Eastern African Sub regional Support Initiative (EASSI) undertook a gender analysis of the existing trade policies at national and East African Community regional level. On 30 th July, 2015, EASSI organized a meeting to disseminate study findings on gender analysis of EAC trade policies and regulatory frameworks. SEATINI Uganda was represented during this meeting. The purpose of the study was to inform initiatives aimed at creating a more equitable environment for women traders in the East African Community and Partner states. The meeting brought together representatives from key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and relevant organizations and institutions engaging with cross border traders. Some of the key issues that arose from the meeting included; the realization that East African Community partner state recognized the gender policy in their national trade policy; East African Community partner states haven t yet done enough to address various issues in the inter cross border trade; there is need to rebuild confidence in formal cross border trading structures by sensitizing the cross border association with current issues pertaining trade in the East African Community region; there is need to establish regional financial facility to support the association who are involve in the cross border trade; partner states need to mainstream gender in policies and work plans; cross border traders need to be empowered with entrepreneurial education and training in order to build their capacity so that they can better take up opportunities presented by East African Community regional integration.

4 REGIONAL EVENTS: P A G E 4 East African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers root for promotion of production: On 28 th July, 2015, a delegation from the Federation of the East African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (FEAPM) led by its Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries, Mr. Nazeem Mohamed paid a working visit to the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania and held discussions with the Secretary General of the East African Community, Ambassador, Dr. Richard Sezibera. The Federation of East African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers is a platform formed to address the common challenges and exploit emerging opportunities for East African pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Chairperson of FEAPM, Mr. Nazeem Mohamed, highlighted the need for harmonization of some of the possible incentive frameworks to promote local pharmaceutical production in the region that include; a uniform preferential margin of 20% for all regionally produced medicines and medical devices in public tenders according to Art. 35 of the Common Market Protocol; no duties on imports of raw and packing material, pharmaceutical manufacturing related equipment as well as spare parts for this equipment acquired by local manufacturers registered in the EAC; and classification or import restrictions for finished pharmaceutical products that can be produced locally, based on regional capacity and quality audits of local manufacturers. Federation of the East African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (FEAPM) also noted that the implementation of the incentive framework would lead to the growth of local production and in turn employment generation; opportunities for highly skilled labor force; reduction of substandard and counterfeit products; creation of high value industry and attraction of investments and financial viability; improved skills and technology transfer; creation of backward / forward linkages and import savings and export earnings among others. Amb. Sezibera emphasized the need to have well-structured incentive frameworks that would meet the market requirements and allow for growth of enterprises in the Community. Amb. Sezibera tasked the EAC Departments of industrial development and health to work with FEAPM officials for greater coordination on the development of local production of pharmaceutical products in the region. For more information, please follow the link at: index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1925:east-african-pharmaceuticalmanufacturers-root-for-promotion-of-local-production&catid=146:pressreleases&itemid=194&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

5 . Region Launches Online Trading Platform to connect Farmers with Grain buyers : P A G E 5 On 31 st July, 2015, a platform to connect farmers to grain buyers in the region was launched in Nairobi, Kenya. The platform, dubbed G-Soko, was developed by a Kenyan-based IT firm Virtual City in partnership with the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and the Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa Organization. G-Soko, the online trading platform will now enable Smallholder farmers in the East Africa to sell their produce at favourable prices. Present at the G-Soko launch were, among others, government officials from the Republic of Kenya, Development Partners, the Director of Food Trade for East and Southern Africa, Representatives of Farmers Associations and certified grains warehouses from all the Partner States except Burundi. Speaking at the launch of the platform, the Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera commended East African Grain Council (EAGC) for partnering with the Secretariat to implement the EAC Food Security Action Plan, which is the EAC strategy to achieve food security in the region. The farmers will also benefit from reduced post-harvest losses through access to professional storage, cleaning, drying and will benefit from improved prices discovery since many of them rely on farm-gate prices that deliver cash at lower prices. As for Millers, G-Soko system guarantees availability of quality stocks; standardized and proven grading thus reducing need to carry out sampling to check quality. The G-Soko is now operational in two of the East African Community (EAC) Partner States; Uganda and Kenya, and arrangements are underway to extend the system to Tanzania and Rwanda before the Grains warehouses from all the partner states except Burundi. For more information, please follow the link at: option=com_content&view=article&id=1927:region-launches-online-trading-platform-to-connect-farmerswith-grain-buyers&catid=146:press-releases&itemid=194&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter For more information Contact: Ms. Jane Nalunga Country Director SEATINI-Uganda jnalunga09@gmail.com SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AFRICA TRADE INFORMATION AND NEGOTIATIONS INSTITUTE (SEATINI) UGANDA Plot 69, Bukoto Street, Kamwokya, P.0 Box, 3138, Kampala, Tel: , seatini@infocom.co.ug, Website: seatiniuganda.org, Facebook: SEATINI Uganda, Twitter: SEATINI-Uganda For SEATINI Uganda s photo gallery Follow the link at: