Looking at the bigger picture, speculations are that the milk and milk product levies and taxes are designed to lure Uganda to choose favourably towards other trade issues that are pending.

As local Ugandan media puts it; “Uganda maintains that if there are issues that need to be addressed, they can be handled through bilateral arrangements or the regional trade agreements within the East African Community instead of using arbitrary means such as high taxes.”

Squeezing Uganda to act in its favour, Kenya has also imposed what Uganda is terming ‘a restriction to Ugandan diary products since January 2020.’ Notably, Kenya is Uganda’s largest milk trading partner in the region, yet for over an year now, Kenya has maintained restrictions on Ugandan milk products despite the East African Community (EAC) common market protocol.…

According to the brewer, profit after tax for the period declined 1 per cent to Sh7 billion mainly impacted by cost inflation, tax and foreign exchange impact.

Further, the COVID-19 related tax reliefs in Kenya on corporation tax and VAT ended in December 2020, resulting in higher tax charges for the year as the rates reverted back to pre-COVID levels.

The company said the slower profit growth rate was driven by the impact of cost inflation, adverse foreign exchange and tax charges.…

A plan seeking to revive tourism in East Africa has been approved, following the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector.

Dubbed ‘The EAC Regional COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Plan’, the map was approved by the East African Community Sectoral Council led by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala.

Tourism ministers from the East Africa Community noted that some partner states had already instituted measures such as the formulation of stimulus packages aimed at re-igniting the sector and supporting tourism investments including the Small and Micro Enterprises.

In his opening remarks, Balala underscored the importance of the Partner States working together especially in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector and in joint tourism recovery efforts.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all of some really important lessons. For instance, domestic and regional tourism markets are really important and they can help in making …

If death could be bribed, the rich men would never die, this old African saying has come to life as new light is shown on Ugandan doctors over charging Covid-19 patients for treatment. After all, once diagnosed, one is ready to pay any amount to rid themselves of the dreaded virus, so the doctors put two and two together and charge more.

Here is the shocking and even upsetting if not downright despicable testimonial of a patient who was been swindled after he was diagnosed positive of Covid-19. He speaks of what happens as he is admitted in to a private hospital in Uganda mid last month.

“After two days of admission, the hospital told me they needed me to advance some money, $750…I did not have it anyway…when discharging me, that’s when they gave me the full medical bill of $2,482.”

This is just one patient, but he represents …

The ceremony was attended by local and regional dignitaries – heads of states, ministers, heads of diplomatic missions and international organizational heads. H.E. Museveni in his speech gave highlights and assurance to the business community around the East African region, Africa and the world at large,  stating that the National Resistance Movement (NRM), – the ruling party, stands for Pan-Africanism which translates into economic and political integration. Economic integration in this case refers to having a common market for products and freely doing business within the borders of the neighbours. This is an assurance that the Ugandan market specifically, is open for interested economies and individual business owners and investors. …

Ugandan politics are suffering from a very common ailment, a viral disease that plagues most all of Africa’s young democracies and if Uganda is any example, the syndrome is seemingly incurable. The pathogen is power; the disease is the unwillingness to let it go or the sinister coveting to attain it.

Either ways, with exception to but a handful of countries, it seems African democracies are shaken to the very roots of their existence every time a general election comes around.

As Uganda readies itself for its general election’s next year, the country is making rather very negative headlines. Tough words like ‘economic sanctions’ are already being tossed thither.

However, Uganda is suffering from another problem, a very rare kind of problem a problem that is not unique to Africa, on the contrary the problem probably does not exist anywhere else in the World, the problem of having excess power.…