President Museveni yesterday inaugurated the Presidential CEO Forum (PFC) with a call to the business community to adopt import substitution and export promotion if the country is to realise tangible economic progress.
“If you want the country to grow, you need to look at what business you are doing. Does it bring blood here or does it suck blood and take it out? That is the problem I used to have with KASITA. Their business was importing. They even reached the extent of importing wigs. The main message is, please minimise and eliminate importing,” he said.
The ceremony took place at State House Entebbe.
The Presidential CEO Forum is a direct and adequate link between the private sector leadership, CEOs from corporate institutions and government executives with the aim of contributing to the national development agenda.
Mr Museveni noted that there are two actors in the economic history of the world.
“Among those economic actors, there are those who import, not importing raw materials or inputs but finished goods. Those people I would like to discourage them and gradually convert them to actors here who make things from here,” he said. The President said he was happy they have agreed on paying scientists well.
Mr Museveni appreciated the value in having business forums such as PCF, which he said help government in policy formulation.
He said government will in turn facilitate the business community with the necessary infrastructure such as roads and cheap electricity, and lower the cost of doing business in the country.
The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, urged the CEOs to share the challenges that affect them while doing business.
“I would like to ask the CEOs to report the corrupt tendencies of government officers who deal with them,” she said.
The chairperson of the Presidential CEO Forum, Ms Barbra Mulwana, said the inauguration of the Forum will enable them champion government’s agenda towards fostering the social economic transformation and development of Uganda.
Ms Mulwana said the PCF will deliver on its vision through fostering the social economic transformation agenda, and complimenting government with practical interventions on entrepreneurship growth and value addition.