South Sudan disappointed by Ugandan investors
Nov 21, 2006 (KAMPALA) — A southern Sudan minister has said Ugandans have been too slow in taking advantage of the investment opportunities that abound in his country.
Anthony Makana, Southern Sudan’s trade, commerce and supply minister was in Kampala last week to launch a liaison office in Kampala to facilitate growth of trade between the two countries.
Alkebulam Investment and Promotions, a private venture is situated on the ground floor of the Kampala Casino building on Kimathi Avenue.
Alkebulam has been set up to enable Uganda’s business community get into southern Sudan in an organised way following a spate of frauds by conmen posing as genuine investment promoters.
Mabior Garang De Mabior, son to the late General John Garang, former leader of Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) is behind the company.
Makana said: “Ugandans, I am sorry to say this. Your response to taking up the opportunities that exist in my country have been slow. You have moved too cautiously, you need to move fast and this is our wish.”
“There is no danger in investing in southern Sudan because the international community is monitoring this peace agreement. Sudan is a land of opportunity. There are lots of other things that you can talk about Sudan but it’s a land of opportunity.”
For long, there has been a general laxity among potential Uganda investors interested in venturing into the lucrative southern Sudan because of mainly security concerns.
While Ugandans have been slow in establishing investment in southern Sudan, their Kenyan counterparts have moved very fast. According to Makana, at the last count, 35,000 Kenyans were found to be doing all sorts of business there.
Yet Uganda, the longest and closest ally of Southern Sudan lags behind in trying to tap into this region.
In his talk to a cross section of Ugandan business people at Hotel Africana, the minister mentioned the potential of the fish industry, saying the country has the potential to produce 150,000 tonnes of fish per annum.
“For many people who want to invest in tourism, Sudan is a good place to invest,” Makana said. He said one of the trade bottlenecks (double taxation), which has been reported is illegal and is something they are working to rectify.
He acknowledged the existence of problems even as Southern Sudan calls for investment because of unscrupulous people. “Come and visit Southern Sudan and see for yourself,” Makana said.
Southern Sudan remains an investment hotspot both in land size and natural endowments. The region is blessed with huge deposits of oil, gold and is one of the biggest producers of Gum Arabica in Africa. Still picking up the pieces from decades of war, the country, divided into 10 provinces (three of these are the size of Uganda) lacks just about everything from a needle to food supplies.
After decades of war, the country is slowly opening up to the world with a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study by the World Bank set to start.
The efforts at rebuilding were boosted by the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005.
The signing of the CPA between the the SPLM and the Khartoum government sparked of a huge scramble for the latent business opportunities in the region.
“We have signed protocols with Kenya in 16 areas, we are about to sign a protocol with Uganda in many areas, already we have signed protocols with Uganda’s ministry of education to take Ugandan teachers to Sudan,” he said.
(East African Business Week)