President Yoweri Museveni has directed the relevant government departments to start taking action against foreign nationals especially Asians who are running small scale businesses in Uganda.
This is not acceptable according to the President; small retail businesses should be left to Ugandans while the foreigners should be running large scale firms such as factories that provide employment to Ugandans.
Museveni while addressing government ministers and their permanent secretaries at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi yesterday reechoed his earlier concern that trade relations between Uganda and faraway countries like China have been favoring only the latter.
Many Ugandans have over the years complained and economists warned about the rate at which foreigners, majorly Chinese and Indians have taken over the country’s economy down to the lowest level.
It is commonplace walking downtown in Kampala and other municipalities to find Chinese people working in small shops retailing second hand clothes, shoes and electronics.
There have also been complaints that Chinese firms contracted on government infrastructure projects tend to come along with their own nationals to work as foremen and sometimes casual laborers.
These foreigners are also employed is large numbers in numerous hotels and restaurants in the country.
Economists have warned that this will not only worsen Uganda’s unemployment challenges but also profit repatriation.
President Museveni said yesterday that it was “not correct for the regulators not to take action against the Chinese and Indian retailers who unfairly compete against our retailers.”
“Those foreigners should not operate at that terminal level. They should be re-directed to manufacturing in particular and other areas like construction.”
He added, “Retailing should be preserved for the Ugandans or, possibly, the other African immigrants as well.”
At the start of this financial Year, President Museveni also warned against excessive importation of Chinese products into the country, while we export back so little.
He noted with concern that Uganda earns only USD 600Million from its exports to China, European Union, India, South Africa and UAE where it spends $5.5 Billion on importation.
Currently according to the President, Ugandan only exports goods worth US$54.7millions per year to China.
“It is not correct to support the prosperity of others by massively importing their products (goods and services) while they do not support our prosperity through them importing our goods and services,” Museveni told the leaders at Kyankwanzi.