Government officials led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ms. Lynette Bagonza and the Head of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU), Col. Edith Nakalema have today met and held fruitful discussions with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) owners.
The public interface held at SHIPU offices in Kampala, focused on forging a way forward in overcoming the unnecessary delays in the certification of products by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
Business or product certification is a credential awarded by a professional or governmental organization to an individual or business that verifies their knowledge, skills, or adherence to specific standards and capabilities.
Col. Nakalema explained that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni instituted SHIPU in 2023 with a directive to the unit to coordinate government Ministries and agencies not to delay or frustrate wealth creators during the investment process.
“However, in working with UNBS , it was brought to our attention that you, our esteemed entrepreneurs, have experienced unnecessary delays of over 400 days in the certification process of your products,” she said.
“The President has received so many complaints that government ministries and agencies are delaying many investors in their journey of continuing to promote the economic development of Uganda. Following a Presidential directive, we are under instructions, as government agencies, to hand-hold domestic entrepreneurs, the primary drivers of local economic growth, to profitably engage in wealth creation. This interaction that we are hosting today is part of our efforts to enforce the President’s directive.”
Col. Nakalema also revealed that due to the many complaints against UNBS, the President is about to take action and some people are likely to lose their jobs.
“We need officers who add value in their places of work,” she cautioned.
Col. Nakalema assured the entrepreneurs that as SHIPU which is intended to facilitate prompt attention to investment-related concerns, they acknowledge that the delays in the certification process have disrupted their business plans.
“We know that all of you are people with a sharp eye for business opportunity, entrepreneurs with a passion for innovation and eager to introduce reputable products on the market. We equally recognize that it takes a great deal of effort and considerable investment to get your products on shelves right from when you conceive the intention.”
On behalf of the government, she extended sincere apologies to investors over the unnecessary delays in getting their products certified.
“We sincerely regret the frustration this long wait has caused to your enterprises. I’m going to ensure that we uproot the wrong elements from the system. We cannot continue like this.”
On her part, Ms. Bagonza apologised to the entrepreneurs for the issues at hand caused by UNBS but pledged that the mishaps will be resolved.
“As our chief clients, we should be supporting you to make investments successful, not to make you suffer as we build our nation together,” she said.
She also underscored the critical role of investors in supporting President Museveni’s target of achieving Uganda’s 10-fold economy growth strategy.
“We cannot achieve that if we hinder your ability to get there,” Ms. Bagonza said.
“I assure you of positive change. We are going to correct our mistakes. The Ministry is supervising the entity that’s why we put up a new board to oversee the operations. We should give them a chance, I’m sure there will be a turn around.”
Ms. Bagonza also called on government institutions supervising industrialization, to make sure investments thrive.
“For UNBS, we need to develop a backlog strategy, to reduce the backlog. We have to be intentional and deliberate on this.”
During the same meeting, UNBS led by the Chairperson of the National Standards Council, Eng. James Kalibbala and the entity’s Executive Director, Eng. James Kasigwa apologised to the investors for the regrettable situation that has caused them untold business distress.
“I agree with most of what was raised but there are some areas of information gaps which need to be covered,”Eng. Kalibbala said.
“However, UNBS has helped us to promote the quality of our products. Uganda’s products are far better than the products of most other countries.”
Eng. Kasigwa also noted that the public interface has helped them to reflect and unpack the critical issues affecting stakeholders.
“We value you because SMEs are the backbone of any economy anywhere in the world. Your comments call for action and we commit not to only do better but excellently. I want to assure you that we have good leadership at the Ministry and at the bureau, we are at the turning point because we have a new board.”
Additionally, he disclosed that UNBS has a whole new strategic plan for up to 2030 in line to NDPIV and 10- fold growth strategy, thus calling upon MSMEs to work hand in hand with the entity to achieve their plans.
“We want to change our working methods to make sure that our nation achieves a 10-fold economy.”
The Executive Director of Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), Dr. Ezra Muhumuza said UNBS has been in shambles but was thankful to the Ministry of Trade for putting the entity in order after making some adjustments such as instituting a National Standards Council to oversee its operations.
“You have also increased their vote by three-fold.”
Dr. Muhumuza further requested entrepreneurs to hire quality control officers in their factories to regulate the quality of their products in that they are on the same page with UNBS as far as standards are concerned.
The Principal, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Prof. Bruce Kirenga tasked UNBS to put up a system to enable its employees to be accountable to the people they serve.
“In addition to the strategic plan, we need to have an operational plan. Automate the system for effective service delivery,” he said.
Entrepreneurs speak out:
Mr. Gaster Lule Ntake, the proprietor of Ntake Group, thanked Col. Nakalema for organising such a crucial meeting that has enabled them to air out their concerns.
“UNBS, we thank you for guiding us but there are a lot of issues you are supposed to work on, like charging us exorbitantly for services which are also very slow. Certification also overdelays,” he said.
“When I start an industry, my products can’t go to consumers without your stamp; you also delay giving us that stamp. The question is are you promoting investment or? You are also very slow in decision-making and that leaves us stuck.”
Mr. Sonko Peter, a local entrepreneur also complained about the payment of documents from UNBS where some are supposed to be free.
“A UNBS permit is for one year and when it expires, you have to repeat the whole process from scratch and the process is cumbersome,” he said.
Dr. Anna Nakanwagi Mukwaya, a public health specialist and entrepreneur, said for the last three years, she has suffered from delayed certification.
“We used to have issues over supply of medicine to TB patients due to delays of certification. If you delay certification, it means that the product will not be on the market and this kills business. When we pay money as investors, the process of audit should be expedited and then the product is certified so that it goes to the market.”
She also faulted the line Ministry over failure to effectively monitor the performance of the entity.
“You leave the entity unsupervised and all the pain goes to us.”
Mr. Karizha Rukuuka Peter, an entrepreneur from Tororo also affirmed that delayed certification has greatly affected them as local investors.
“I’m also a victim of delayed certification of 400 days plus. This has really affected us because without certification, nobody wants to do business with us,” he said.
“But we thank Mzee for directing Col. Nakalema to engage us on this vital issue.”
The public interface was attended by government officials and various entrepreneurs from several sectors.
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