Kiganda Ssonko
16 November 2008
Kampala — UGANDA loses over $10m (sh19b) a year due to importation of duty-free steel coils, yet they are made locally, Bhatnagar Rakesh, the executive director of Uganda Baati, has said.
Rakesh said although Uganda loses $10m, Kenya and Tanzania impose a 25% import duty on steel products.
"This is why Kenya and Tanzania's steel sectors are more developed than Uganda because they have taxes that control imports, promote local production, widen the employment base and increase revenue for the governments. It's not the case for Uganda, which over relies on imports at the expense of the local manufacturers," he said in an interview.
Rakesh said because of the Government's failure to protect manufacturers, Uganda was the least developed country in East Africa in the steel sector.
He said by imposing a tax on importation of galvanised plain coils that are produced locally, manufacturers would be boosted and new investments attracted.
"A duty of at least 10% or more is fair compared to 25% in Tanzania and Kenya," Rakesh said.
Rakesh said the finance ministry was frustrating expansion of the steel sector by delaying implementation of President Yoweri Museveni's directive to impose an import duty on the steel coils.
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