We need single currency in the region – women traders from cross boarder

Rt. Hon. 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs in Uganda today held a meeting with the Uganda Women Cross Boarder Traders-(UWCBT) at the Ministry’s head offices located on Nile Avenue on Kingdom Kampala Building. The women were led by their chairperson and accompanied by the chairman of Cross Boarder Members of Parliament Hon. Macho Godfrey MP Busia Municipality.

Among the key bottle necks that hinder smooth transaction of business at the boarder that the women tabled before the Minister were:

• High exchange rates at the boarder
• Road user charges 
• No financial cooperatives amongst them
• Poor boarder trade cooperation in some member states
• No tariff barriers among others.

In attendance were Ministry heads of  departments including Annet who bought the visiting women up to speed on progress of use of single currency in the region. The Chairman of Cross Boarder Members of Parliament appreciated the ministry’s deployment of officers at boarder point and he requested the Minister to organize sensitization outreach programs for women such that they can be more empowered with awareness up to date tools of trade in the region.

In her closing remarks, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga promised to lobby for additional support for women cooperatives at boarder points and to hold a delegation from Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Uganda on public hearing of women doing cross border trade.