Uganda and South Africa are nearing travel visa waiver as the private sectors in both countries continue to call on the two governments to work towards the removal of all non-tariff barriers.
This comes amidst a continuously highly imbalanced trade position, with South Africa exporting to Uganda goods worth billions of dollars while Uganda’s exports to the south are just worth a few hundred million, according to available figures.
Deputy minister for Trade, Industry and Economic Development, Nomalungelo Gina told the Uganda South Africa Trade and Investment Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala that trade had dropped especially South Africa’s export to Uganda, though Uganda’s exports grew marginally.
“Over the last five years, South African exports to Uganda have seen a marginal decrease from $2.1 billion in 2018 to $1.7 billion in 2022 while South African imports from Uganda grew from $102 million in 2008 to $304 million in 2022. You will all agree with me that these numbers are extremely low and much needs to be done to significantly improve the bilateral and balance of trade to narrow this deficit. Over 57 South African companies have invested or are operating in Uganda and we’re looking forward to saying from these we’re going to see more of South African companies coming this side and more of Ugandan companies coming to South Africa,” she said.
Earlier this year, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa tasked the governments to find out why his country’s investments in Uganda had dropped by more than half in two years. Odrek Rwabwogo, chairperson presidential advisory committee in exports and industrial development said a study done after Ramaphosa’s call found that the cost of logistics and transport, the inability of Ugandan companies to sustain the supply of raw materials, and the unreliability of internet services among others were frustrating investments in Uganda.
Rwabwogo expressed concern that deals that were sealed at a previous summit in South Africa have not been implemented to date, including setting up a mobile phone plant. He said it was time for the two countries to remove all bottlenecks that are hindering the smooth flow of investments between the two countries.
He wondered, for example, why South Africa, a net importer and a high consuming community of coffee, continues to import the commodity from overseas yet Uganda has all the coffee they need. Rwabwogo, a commercial farmer in Uganda, also blamed the South African government for the delay on their part to appoint a trade representative in Uganda to ease trade concerns.
“We wanted South Africa to appoint a trade rep here – business to business we can have conversations to deal with and deal with conflict resolutions quicker because part of what I do is to remove those roadblocks whenever there are, and in a very brutal way we deal with them because we want to grow. Our young people cannot wait for the lateness of decision making in our decision making. That is why they leave us and go to Europe and I feel like we don’t have time. The day should be operating 24 hours,” said Rwabogo.
On the part so far played by Uganda, Rwabwogo revealed that the government had set aside $350 million (about Shs 1.3 trillion) for a fund to support trade and investment with South Africa. Ebenezer Asante, senior vice president at MTN Group hailed the private sector’s resilience in the midst of recent economic shocks.
Asante challenged the government to improve the business environment so that his country’s investments in Uganda can fully benefit the people to build “the Uganda we want”, adding that the people have played their part by proving their hunger to work. South African investments in Uganda include commercial banks, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, and transportation among others.
Concerns by Ugandans were retaliated by Paul Amoru, Uganda’s high commissioner to South Africa and southern African states who called for the expeditious conclusion of visa-free travel between the two countries. According to the embassy, there are currently about 1 million Ugandans in southern Africa. Ambassador Amoru said a comprehensive solution should be reached and communicated to the concerned in a few months.
“We had the director general from Home Affairs from South Africa and that was the highest level of commitment that the South African side was able to exhibit. They have been here, and we have agreed on a roadmap for the coming few months that will be agreed. The beauty with that is that businesspeople will have it easy to make their schedules and make their business plans. I’m sure the team that travelled to Uganda, they kept getting plans, and I think some of the visas with support from Internal Affairs we were able to issue them in 2 hours to enable the South Africans to be able to come. This is one of the areas we’re looking forward to working on,” he said.
In response to the concerns about travel restrictions, South Africa’s high commissioner to Kampala, Lulama Xinguana said there was no cause for concern about the absence of an agreement on travel visas. She admitted that people seeking employment opportunities in South Africa find it harder to get a visa, but it’s not the same for businesspeople.
On proof of a business seeking to invest in or export to the country, she said, a visa is granted by the embassy easily, while some have been granted long-term multiple visas allowing them to freely conduct business. She revealed that the Department of Home Affairs officials have been in Uganda for four days in talks with the officials at ministry of Internal Affairs over the visa requirements between the two countries.
“They met with their counterparts of the ministry of Internal Affairs and agreed on a number of MOUs that will determine if we have a visa waiver. But I want to say to businesspeople in Uganda, visa is not a hindrance to you. We work very closely with businesspeople but you must prove to us that you’re a real businessman in Uganda before you can go to South Africa. If you want to go to South Africa to look for a job, then I’m going to ask a number of questions before you get a visa. We have a number of businesspeople we give them visas of one year – multiple entry, we give even 3 years multiple entry,” said Xinguana.
She assured Ugandans that her country is ready to import Ugandan coffee and other agricultural commodities. However, she said the challenge will be meeting the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements as animal and plant health remains vital to the country.
Source: The Observer
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