Uganda registers poor performance in competitiveness

Uganda’s performance in the Global Competitiveness Report is a cataclysm as the country could only come at a distant 114 out of the 129 countries ranked in 2017/18 index.

The report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) puts Mauritius, Uganda’s neighbour Rwanda, and South Africa as the best performers in Africa.

Mauritius came first in Africa but placed 45th globally, while Rwanda emerged in position 58 globally and maintained its position as East Africa’s most competitive economy alongside Kenya which was rated in 91st position. Tanzania, at position 113 and Burundi at 129 were the other worst performers.

Meanwhile, through interviews with top executives in Uganda, the report indicates that the country faces challenges such as tax rates, corruption, access to financing inadequate supply of infrastructure, inflation inefficient government bureaucracy, poor work ethic in national labor force.

Other challenges are tax regulations, inadequately educated workforce policy instability, foreign currency regulations, crime and theft, poor public health, insufficient capacity to innovate and government instability.

The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving countries’ productivity and prosperity. The WEF defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.

The report assessed countries on twelve pillars such as: institutions, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technology readiness and market size. Other pillars the report based on are business sophistication, innovation and infrastructure.

The report shows that Uganda came in 30th position globally in labour market officially, compared to the rest of the pillars where the country scored above 75.

Richard Samans, head of Centre for Global Agenda and a member of the Board of World Economic Forum, said that despite recovery in the global economy, prevailing growth strategies and models of economic progress are increasingly being called into question.

The Global Competitiveness Report seeks to provoke constructive policy dialogue among policy-makers, business leaders and members of the civil society.

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide, providing a platform for dialogue between government, business and civil society about the actions required to improve economic prosperity.