Come and take a look, Museveni tells investors

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has invited investors and business leaders to take a closer look at what his country can offer them.

“There is so much business potential,” he stated, stressing his government’s commitment to encouraging investment. Mr Museveni said Uganda offered special tax holidays, stamp duty abolition, and value added tax exemptions as incentives to tap investment.

He hinted that there would be more incentives on the plate in the upcoming 14 June budget.

Growth had reached 6.3 per cent in 2006 and could climb further this year, Mr Museveni told an investment forum prior to the launch of the Commonwealth Business Forum at Marlborough House in London on 4 June 2007.

President Museveni invited delegates to visit Uganda, which will host the Commonwealth Business Forum in the run-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this November.

The theme for CHOGM 2007 is ‘Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve political, economic and human development’.

Mr Museveni said it was time to move away from vague concepts like ‘sustainable development’ in relation to the world’s underdeveloped nations.

“How can someone sustainably remain a child? You cannot be sustainably underdeveloped.”

The key was transformation, he emphasised. Citing the massive economic growth of China, he said that country had catapulted from a pre-industrial to an industrial society in just 28 years.

China had used its immense size and opened up to investment to grow.

“They opened up for foreign businesses. And as they opened up, so foreign companies gained. If Western companies can help China, they can help in transforming Commonwealth members,” he commented.

Key Links:

• Country Profile: Uganda
• Ugandan President, Malta PM launch Business Forum

Related News:

• Commonwealth Business Council
• CHOGM 2007 Uganda