KAMPALA: President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to remove bureaucracies in importation of goods at key border points.
While meeting a team from Stabex International on Thursday, Museveni said he had noted concerns by importers on challenges of doing business in Uganda.
“I met and discussed with a team from Stabex International, led by the Group Chairman Mr Jackson Kiplimo Chebet,” Museveni noted after the meeting.
“I noted several of their challenges in doing business, including unnecessary delays at weighbridges, regulatory bureaucracies and High Power and installation costs. These are solvable issues,” he said.
According to industry players, importers of petroleum products have been complaining over delays caused by the fuel marking process at the Kenyan border.
Stabex are one of the main dealers of petroleum products with plans to expand into other east African countries using Uganda as the main route.
Museveni thus directed Vice President Jessica Alupo to ensure that all the matters presented by Chebet and his team are addressed.
Chebet informed the President that they are planning to set up a cylinder manufacturing plant in Uganda.
“We want to set up a cylinder manufacturing plant to promote import substitution and create employment opportunities for Ugandans. If we can be given space in one of the industrial parks and set up this plant, we will really appreciate it.”
“We also want to put up a plant for lubricants when the oil refineries are up and running. This will help save a lot of foreign exchange. We are really ready to invest in that space,” the investor said.
Chebet also said they were considering investing in large-scale production of agricultural products.
Chebet thanked the President for the stability and conducive business environment in the country, through which his visionary and dynamic leadership has enabled companies like Stabex to achieve a lot of progress.
On the issue of setting up a cylinder manufacturing plant in Uganda, President Museveni welcomed the idea before assigning Alupo, to accord the company all the necessary assistance to ensure that they realize their goal.
“For the electricity costs, don’t worry. We are pushing it down to 5 cents for manufacturing in order to lower the operational costs,” President Museveni said.
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