Bank of Uganda Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, has once again come out to reject government’s policy commonly referred to as Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) saying the country risks jeopardizing its success in exporting to regional markets through such protectionist trade policies.
Mutebile said this in a speech read on his behalf at the ongoing 12th Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Trade facilitation expo 2017 by Bank of Uganda’s Deputy Director in Charge of Economic Research, David Sajjabi, at UMA exhibition hall.
He said that the proposal for BUBU if implemented to offer domestic products preferential treatment on the domestic market over the East African Community partners would be inconsistent with the East African Community Customs Union Protocol.
Mutebile argues that BUBU is inconsistent with the East Africa Community Customs Union Protocol which prohibits partner states from undertaking any administrative measures which discriminate in favour of its own producers at the expense of those of its partners.
However, government through BUBU states that the country cannot afford to put at risk access to the regional market through inviting retaliation to the local ill thought out protectionist trade measures.
He pointed out that BUBU campaign is not compatible with an export promotion strategy but rather promotes import substitutes.
However, the Executive Director Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Gideon Badagawa, said that the BUBU campaign cannot be stopped since similar policies exist in some of the partner East African countries like Kenya and Rwanda.
