Give incentives to investors at own risk - expert
Dr Emeka Akaezuwa
The International University of East Africa vice-chancellor has warned government about the long-term effect that the economy is beginning to feel from the incentives it has been giving foreign investors.
Addressing journalists on Friday ahead of the upcoming International Youth Festival that the university is hosting on October 4 and 5, Dr Emeka Akaezuwa warned the government that the foreign investors are taking advantage of the incentives that they have been offered to flood the local market with products, which their governments have heavily subsidised and the local investors are being slowly edged out of business.
“Every country has strategic assets that it must protect. Britain, China, America subsidise their industries and they protect them as strategic assets. When you allow them to come here as foreign investors, they will instead flood the local market with their products and the local investor losses out,” he said.
He explained that instead of giving incentives to foreign investors, the government should direct such resources to grooming young leaders that the country will be proud of in future since these will be the leaders planning and taking decisions in business, health and all the important sectors of the economy.
“We need young leaders who can discuss issues which are important to youth such as health, culture, media, business, collaborations with colleagues outside Uganda, because when you are building bridges, you are creating opportunities. Africa has the potential to create new jobs. The continent does not need Chinese, Americans or British to come and develop it but African engineers, writers, architects who are dreaming of a bigger future for it,” he said.
Asked whether the university don’s claims are true, Mr Morisson Rwakakamba, the board chair for Uganda Investment Authority, dismissed the vice chancellor’s claims, saying they are not correct.
He said foreign investors use local electricity, local water, the local natural resources, which they pay for, and the government has given Ugandan investors free land, which they can mortgage in banks and get loans to buy equipment.
He also said they put money in Uganda Development Bank for Ugandans to borrow to set up factories and “it is the reason 60 percent of the factories in Namanve industrial park today are owned by Ugandans”.
Asked what the upcoming youth festival is all about, Dr Emeka said they are bringing youth from different parts of the world to discuss the global challenges they should expect to encounter and also equip them with skills on how they should solve them as future leaders.
