MTN and Airtel have denied increasing the prices on the face value of the airtime vouchers.

Recently, different shops in Uganda hiked the airtime prices in various parts of the country like Kampala, Masaka, Mbarara, Mukono, Mityana, Soroti, Buikwe, Tororo, Mbale and Gulu among others.

The prices were hiked on the most bought vouchers of Ugx 500 which was being sold at 600 and 1000shs at 1200shs or 1500shs.

The telecommunication companies have come out and said that those who sell airtime at overcharged prices do it illegally and also advised subscribers not to pay more than the amount printed on any of the recharge cards.

Alternatively, customers have been advised to explore other options of purchasing airtime such as MTN Mobile money, Airtel money and Easy Load.

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Officials from the Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO) are in the country to acquaint themselves with Uganda’s coffee processing chain, right from the garden.

The inspection of Uganda’s coffee comes just a year after Uganda was given a two-year period to comply with the standards set by SSMO – where all coffee entering their market has to be issued with a certificate.

The process kicked off with a meeting with their Ugandan counter-parts from the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) at their head offices in Bweyogerere.

“We met with producers of about 44 commodities and businessmen and agreed that all commodities entering our market be issued with certificates as proof they met SSMO’s quality standards,” SSMO Director General, Dr Awad M. A. Sokrab said.

He added: “We are thus here to verify the coffee chain from the garden to processing so as to reduce the quality gap since we both (UNBS & SSMO) aim at protecting the consumer and our national economies.”

The only accepted certificates are those from international surveyor companies registered by SSMO; the national standards body of the country of origin, and a certificate from an international accredited laboratory approved by the UNBS.

Further, Dr. Sokrab revealed that Sudan appointed a company to carry out pre-shipment inspection of the Uganda coffee exports to Sudan.

On his part UNBS Executive Director, Dr. Ben Manyindo said the Sudanese consume 20% of Uganda’s coffee. “You contribute greatly to our economy and we value you so much.”

On average, Uganda exports over 0.8m bags of coffee annually to Sudan, making it the leading importer of the country’s coffee in Africa and second importer in the world for the last 15 years.

The four-day visit that ends Thursday will see the Sudanese delegates meeting coffee processors, farmers and exporters.

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China has agreed to support customs modernization project in Uganda with a grant worth US$30 million.

The grant will support the capacity of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to acquire latest technologies in the form of non-intrusive scanners, modernized customs risk management, supervision and communication systems, customs service and enforcement support, border infrastructure improvement among others.

The grant agreement was signed in the Chinese capital, Beijing on between finance minister Matia Kasaija and Dr. Qian Keming, the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, and witnessed by Ambassador Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga, and Dicksons Kateshumbwa, the Commissioner Customs (URA) and other senior government officials.

According to Dr. Keming, the grant demonstrates the value China attaches to the relationship with Uganda. On his part, Minister Kasaija extended appreciation to the Chinese government and observed that the grant will support government to mitigate revenue losses as well as facilitate trade and border management.

The grant agreement was signed on the margins of the 2nd session of the Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Investment and Technical Cooperation. During the bilateral meeting, both sides reviewed the status of economic cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, infrastructure and development cooperation. The meeting agreed on strategies to support Uganda’s competitive products access the market in China, promote the country’s touristic attractions as well as boosting investment and industrial capacity. 

The Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Investment and Technical Cooperation is a bilateral mechanism that meets regularly to review implementation of agreed decisions and prioritize areas that promote trade and economic cooperation.

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Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has marked 10 years on the Ugandan market, growing its asset base to Shs717 billion.

Speaking at a dinner for customers held at Kampala Serena Hotel the Deputy Bank of Uganda Governor Dr. Louis Kasekende, commended KCB for supporting development in the country over the years.

“We at the central bank are conscious of the role of financial intermediation provided by the banks like KCB in this market and we don’t take it for granted. In order for business to grow it needs financing and KCB has played that role so well financing some of the most outstanding projects in the market,” Kasekende told guests including the KCB Group CEO, Mr Joshua Oigara and the Bank Board of Directors.

Kasekende also noted that KCB has grown its asset base to Shs717 billion, from Shs59 billion ten years ago with gross loans of up to Shs231 billion issued to date, and reiterated the impact of technology in the financial services sector.

“Financial services providers need to innovate continuously for them to remain competitive in the face of technological advancement,” in the next decade, the whole sector is going to be characterized by adoption of new technologies,” noted Kasekende.

On his part Joram Kiarie, the KCB Bank Uganda MD said: “Today marks a major milestone for us as KCB Bank Uganda as we mark ten years in this market and 120 years since we started out in East Africa. It is a journey that has provided wonderful memories and witnessed the building of useful and lifelong business relationships with our customers.”

KCB Bank Uganda opened its first branch on Commercial Plaza, Kampala Road in November 2007 and has since opened a total of 16 branches, eight of them in Kampala and eight others in major towns around Uganda in Jinja, Mbale, Lira, Gulu, Arua, Hoima, Fort Portal and Mbarara.

The KCB Board Chairman Aga Sekalala Jr said the next ten years will see heavy investment in agency banking as a way of deepening the bank’s presence and relevance in Uganda.

“The next years will see heavy investment in digital platforms as we increasingly create more convenience for our customers but also equally purposeful growth in our retail space through agent banking which we will be launching any time now,” Mr. Sekalala said.

On his part KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara spoke about the vibrancy of the Uganda market and the bank’s commitment to change lives for a long time to come.

“The financial sector is at the nexus of enabling real transformation of most of our people and the generation to come, as a bank we want to enable and create opportunities, resources and jobs for the next generation,” noted Oigara.

KCB Bank is one of the lenders that have already secured the regulator’s license to carry out Agent banking in Uganda, and has also carried out successful agent banking in Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya.

Meanwhile, KCB Bank Uganda has invested over Shs2.5 billion shillings in communities through its Corporate Social Responsibility arm, the KCB Foundation, which focuses on  enterprise development, education, health, environment and humanitarian aid.

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