VZCZCXRO5102
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0457/01 0731106
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141106Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8421
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000457 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR FOR BILL JACKSON 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ETRD KTDB PGOV UG
 
SUBJECT: UGANDA: MARCH ECONOMIC REVIEW 
 
REF: A) KAMPALA 0160 B) KAMPALA 0406 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Uganda's Foreign Minister visited Iran and 
encouraged closer economic ties between the two countries.  The 
European Union's effort to sign a new Economic Partnership Agreement 
faced resistance from the government of Uganda.  Ugandan cargo 
flights to the European Union resume after a five month ban over 
safety concerns.  The Libya Africa Portfolio (LAP) has acquired a 51 
percent stake in communication firm Uganda Telecom Limited.  The 
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) conducted a securities 
market oversight training for East African nations in Kampala. 
Over-fishing and the use of illegal nets threaten Uganda's fishing 
industry.  President Museveni promised not to sell unrefined oil and 
praised Libya's Gaddaffi for his support to Uganda to add value to 
exports.  The Inspector General of Government criticized the 
Ministry of Energy for re-awarding a tender for thermal generators 
to a Norwegian firm which had their bid cancelled in 2006 due to 
serious flaws.  Post furthered Uganda's efforts to protect 
intellectual property right protection through a training 
opportunity with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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Trade/AGOA 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Uganda's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa, led a GOU 
delegation to Iran the first week of March to discuss increased 
trade.  The delegation met with members of the Iranian Chamber of 
Commerce and Iranian industry leaders.  This follows Kutesa's appeal 
to Iran on February 12, for technical assistance in oil production. 
Kutesa said that "Uganda can benefit from Iranian technological 
expertise in the oil sector."  Kutesa was a guest of honor at an 
event to mark the 28th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic 
Revolution.  The Minister of Energy, Daudi Migereko told econoff 
there were no discussions with Iran regarding a potential 
partnership in the oil sector. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The European Union's efforts to sign a new Economic 
Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Uganda faced resistance from 
Ugandan parliamentarians and international trade experts.  The EU 
hopes to sign new agreements to regulate trade between Africa, 
Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries by December 31, but Ugandan 
traders fear the EPA would hinder local producers by flooding the 
market with European products.  Elly Twineyo-Kamugisha, the 
Executive Director of the African Centre for Trade and Development, 
told New Vision reporters on March 9, "Ugandan is not an equal 
partner with European countries."  He cited concerns that Ugandan 
firms would close and jobs would be lost due to cheaper EU imports. 
As an alternative Mr. Kamugisha advocated a three-year extension of 
the existing relationship to negotiate the terms of a new EPA. 
 
¶4. (SBU) After being blacklisted by the European Commission for five 
months, Uganda's DAS Air Cargo and Dairo Air were allowed to resume 
flights to the EU.  The European Commission banned the cargo 
airlines from EU airspace citing serious safety deficiencies.  Air 
safety experts in the EU reviewing the airlines asserted that all 
outstanding concerns had been resolved.  The loss of cargo flights 
to the EU hurt Ugandan trade including exports of cut flowers, which 
were traveling through the EU on their way to U.S. markets under the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act.  The renewed cargo flights also 
will increase use of the USAID funded cold storage facility at 
Entebbe airport, which handles 70 percent of all fish and 
horticulture exports. 
 
------------------------------- 
Business Development/Investment 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Libyan government owned firm Libya Africa Portfolio 
(LAP) acquired a 51 percent stake in Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL). 
UTL is a major Ugandan communication business providing mobile, 
data, internet and land line services.  The shares were purchased 
from UCOM, a German, Swiss and Egyptian consortium, for an 
undisclosed price.  The once government-owned UTL was privatized in 
2000, and the 51 percent stake was sold to UCOM for USD 33.5 
million.  The remaining shares are held by the Ugandan government. 
The Ugandan telecommunications sector boasts three 
internationally-owned operators, MTN (South Africa), Uganda Telecom 
Limited (UTL) and Celtel (Kuwait).  This is the third major 
investment by the Libyan government in Uganda in the last year.  LAP 
purchased a 60 percent stake of the textile firm Tri-Star, and was 
awarded the tender to build the Uganda-Kenya oil pipeline.  In 2005, 
LAP also purchased a majority of shares in the National Housing and 
Construction Company, a former parastatal. 
 
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KAMPALA 00000457  002 OF 003 
 
 
Capital Markets 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) conducted 
a Securities Market Oversight training workshop from February 26 to 
March 2 in Uganda.  The training focused on strategies for 
investigating market misconduct such as insider trading, financial 
fraud and market manipulation.  The workshop also covered current 
issues in harmonizing and integrating markets as Kenya, Tanzania and 
Uganda look toward more integration under the East African Community 
(EAC).  The training was co-hosted by the East African Securities 
Regulatory Authorities (EASRA), the capital markets authorities of 
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, and drew participants from 12 countries 
representing securities authorities, central banks and stock 
exchanges. 
The training was also sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International 
Development (USAID), Financial Services Volunteer Corps and the U.S. 
Treasury Department's Office of Technical Assistance. 
 
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Environment 
----------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Uganda signed an agreement on March 5 with the Government 
of Southern Sudan to coordinate environmental protection along their 
common border.  The region is home to endangered species like 
elephants, cheetahs and lions.  One of Uganda's key tourism sites, 
Kidepo Valley National Park, is along the Sudanese border.  The two 
countries also signed a bilateral cooperation agreement on February 
8 to promote trade and development, which may result in partnering 
to extend a railway line from northern Uganda to South Sudan. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture is raising 
alarms that over-fishing in Lake Victoria could dramatically reduce 
fish stocks.  The Fisheries State Minister, Fred Mukisa told the 
press on March 9 that illegal fish nets are one of the core causes 
of over fishing. Many Ugandan families that live around the lake or 
on its islands rely almost exclusively on fishing for their 
livelihood.  Fish is Uganda's second largest annual export bringing 
in over USD 150 million. 
 
--------------------- 
Energy/Infrastructure 
--------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In a speech on March 2, President Museveni praised Libyan 
leader Muammar Gaddafi for his struggle for "freedom and equality 
devoid of hegemony" for Libyan society in an event marking Libya's 
30th anniversary of the Declaration of the Establishment of Peoples 
Authority through the Masses.  Museveni took the opportunity to 
praise the Libyan leader for his resistance against selling oil 
cheaply in the early 1970s.  Museveni said Uganda was working with 
Libya to stop the hemorrhage of Africa caused by the export of 
unprocessed materials.  Museveni promised that Uganda would not 
export unrefined oil from its recent oil discoveries, describing the 
exportation of raw materials as part of slavery in Africa.  Minister 
for Energy Daudi Migereko told econoff on March 5 that Ugandan wells 
would produce more than double its domestic consumption of 12,000 
barrels per day, and Uganda would be looking to export finished 
petroleum products to its neighbors (reftel b). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Anti-Corruption/Intellectual Rights Property Protection 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Government defied the recommendations of the Inspector 
General of Government, Faith Mwondha, by awarding a tender for 50 
megawatts of thermal generators to Norwegian firm Jacobsen Electro 
for a second time.  The original tender was cancelled following an 
investigation in July 2006 by the IGG which found several fatal 
flaws in the Jacobsen proposal.  These included Jacobsen's attempt 
to alter the terms of its proposal after the bids had closed.  It 
was also alleged that the per kilowatt costs of rival bidder Electro 
Maxx were lower than Jacobsen.  After the IGG's cancellation 
President Museveni stepped in to the process in late August 2006 
citing the energy crisis as a threat to national interest and 
ordered the ministers to conclude a deal with Jacobsen.  Museveni 
said that this decision "does not in any way weaken our resolve of 
zero tolerance towards corruption and ensuring we strictly adhere to 
the relevant laws of public procurement."  The IGG was supposed to 
participate in reviewing the tenders a second time before an award 
was made.  The IGG's Mwondha criticized Energy Minister Daudi 
Migereko in a March 8 interview in the Daily Monitor newspaper, 
saying the tender was awarded without addressing most of the flaws 
that were cited by the IGG last year. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Post continues to coordinate with the U.S. Patent and 
 
KAMPALA 00000457  003 OF 003 
 
 
Trade Mark Office (USPTO) to strengthen protection of Intellectual 
Property Rights (IPR) in Uganda.  The USPTO has accepted Post's 
nomination of the Assistant Commissioner of Enforcement at the 
Uganda Revenue Authority to participate in the USPTO's April 16-20 
training entitled "Recent Trends in Border Enforcement of IPR." This 
training follows up on the IPR training for Ugandan judges and their 
judicial staff sponsored by Post in September 2006. 
BROWNING