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Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) are embroiled in a fight over branding and office ownership rights of the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre (UBFC).
In a staff email authored by URSB Registrar General, Ms Mercy Kainebwisho faults UIA for forcefully taking over the facility and rebranding it as its own one-stop center for business facilitation.
The August 3 email to staff titled: Communication regarding UBFC building and misleading branding and related acts by UIA, noted that UIA had continued to ignore earlier terms of a memorandum of understanding, in which URSB insists it is the rightful owner of the building.
“As some of you many have noticed this morning [August 3], we were taken aback to discover our UBFC home branded with [UIA] insignia. The branding in issue was done in bad faith and overnight,” Ms Kainebwisho wrote, noting that the unexpected situation had cased confusion and misunderstandings both within her team and clients.
However, Mr Denis Nabende, the URSB head of public relations and corporate affairs, on Wednesday told Monitor the branding had since been realigned as initially agreed, noting that the facility would be branded as a Uganda One-stop Business Centre.
Monitor could not independently verify the claim.
Mr Nabende also noted that URSB was the first point of contact, after which investors can proceed to UIA and other relevant agencies.
Efforts to get a comment from UIA proved futile by press time.
Yesterday, Mr Patrick Ocailap, the Ministry of Finance deputy permanent secretary, said fighting over branding was a small issue, noting that Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi had scheduled a meeting next week to sort out the issues between URSB and UIA.
“Fighting over branding or a name is a small issue compared to the problems Uganda has. The One-Stop Business Centre is an asset of the Ministry of Finance, and we are going to take full responsibility,” he said.
Sources familiar with the matter but declined to be named, told Monitor that URSB was the main beneficiary of the Shs54.5b ($15m) project, which was funded by government and the World Bank.
Sources noted that after an assessment had indicated that URSB carried the highest number of indicators for ease of doing business including starting a business, resolving insolvency, protecting minority shareholders and access to credit, the entity had been chosen as the main beneficiary.
Sources further indicated that the project had been procured by late Keith Muhakanizi, who as the former Ministry of Finance permanent secretary brokered an agreement, in which UIA provided land for the facility, while URSB secured part of the funding.
Last week UIA indicated it had launched its permanent home for a one-stop centre at the UBFC building, sparking off furry from mainly URSB officials.
However, project details indicate that the facility has a number of beneficiaries, among which include URSB, UIA, Capital Markets Authority and a one-stop centre with a provision for 15 service points of other government agencies.
In an August 4 letter URSB petitioned Mr Ggoobi, indicating that a breach of the memorandum of understanding dated September 2, 2014, in which URSB and UIA had agreed to jointly work on the establishment of a one-stop center.
The letter noted that UIA had unilaterally planned and held a media briefing regarding the opening and operation of the facility without consulting or involving URSB in the decision making processes.
Details of the UBFC building show that it’s a government property that was constructed under the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project, which is under Private Sector Foundation Uganda.
The 12- storey facility located in the upscale Kampala suburb of Kololo, was completed in 2021.
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