| 70 |
Are business licenses available to all citizens? |
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70a:
In law, anyone may apply for a business license.
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
 |
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Comments: www.justice.go.ug (Registration of Companies, in FAQs): Any individual or corporation can register any type of business association they want. They can do it by personally presenting the required documents to the Registrar General's office or through an advocate with a valid practicing certificate.
References: Section 11, Trade Licensing Act, 1959 (Subject to this Act, a licensing authority may, on application, make to it in the prescribed manner and on payment of the appropriate fee specified in the Schedule to this Act, grant to the applicant a trading licence)
The Companies Act - Chapter 85
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70b:
In law, a complaint mechanism exists if a business license request is denied.
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
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Comments: All compliants pertaining to registration and denial of business license are handled by the Registrar of Companies.
References: Part I of the Companies Act
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70c:
In practice, citizens can obtain any necessary business license (i.e. for a small import business) within a reasonable time period.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: Fullfillment of all requirements can take up to to 25 days. This could even take more days, for example, if public holidays are encountered or other administrative challenges.
References: www.doingbusiness.org (Doing Business 2009. Country Profile for Uganda)
Peer Review Comments: Administrative challenges mostly slow the process of obtaining a business license.
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70d:
In practice, citizens can obtain any necessary business license (i.e. for a small import business) at a reasonable cost.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: The fees payable vary depending on city, municipality or town where the and the size of the business. For example, within the city of Kampala, a small business license would cost between 20,000 shillings (US$10) to 150,000 shillings (US$80).
The Doing Business survey indicates that for a standardized company, a business license would cost about 500,000 shillings (US$266).
References: Trade (Licensing Act, 1969) www.doingbusiness.org (Doing Business 2009. Country Profile for Uganda)
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| 71 |
Are there transparent business regulatory requirements for basic health, environmental, and safety standards? |
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71a:
In law, basic business regulatory requirements for meeting public health standards are transparent and publicly available.
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
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Comments: These laws are publicly available through the Internet (National Environmental Management Authority). Despite this, very few people know about the existence of this law.
References: Part VI of the National Environmental Act
Peer Review Comments: Laws for meeting public health standards are available but they are not effective.
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71b:
In law, basic business regulatory requirements for meeting public environmental standards are transparent and publicly available.
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
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Comments: These laws are publicly available through the Internet (National Environmental Management Authority). Despite this, very few people know about the existence of this law.
References: Part V, National Environment Act
Peer Review Comments: Laws for meeting public environmental standards are available but they not effective.
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71c:
In law, basic business regulatory requirements for meeting public safety standards are transparent and publicly available.
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| Score: |
YES |
NO |
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Comments: The standards are stipulated in the Public Health Act. The act also creates Sanitary Boards (Part II, 4) and Health Boards (Part II, 8) to safeguard and promote public health, and to exercise the powers and perform the duties in respect of the public health conferred or imposed by this act or by any other law.
References: Public Health Act, 1935
Peer Review Comments: Laws regarding public safety standards are available but they not enforced and are not clear to the public.
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| 72 |
Does government effectively enforce basic health, environmental, and safety standards on businesses? |
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72a:
In practice, business inspections by government officials to ensure public health standards are being met are carried out in a uniform and even-handed manner.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: Business inspections are weak and often conducted on an ad hoc basis often after a tragedy. Cases of several recent market fires such as the Owino Market fire in February 2009 and had collapsing buildings, are a result of weak inspections.
References: Media Reports (Monitor, New Vision, June 2008 to September 2009) The New Vision, Feb. 25, 2009
Peer Review Comments: Business inspections by government officials to ensure public health standards are rare and when done are inadequate, and leave the public vulnerable.
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72b:
In practice, business inspections by government officials to ensure public environmental standards are being met are carried out in a uniform and even-handed manner.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: In several instances there are efforts to ensure public environmental standards are being met. Kampala Industiral and Business Park ( KIBP), for example, recruited a full-time environment specialist, whose duty is to constantly liaise with NEMA to ensure total compliance with environmental standards.
References: Report of Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) Stakeholder's workshop, held on Feb. 23, 2009 at Hotel Africana
www.ugandainvest.com
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72c:
In practice, business inspections by government officials to ensure public safety standards are being met are carried out in a uniform and even-handed manner.
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| Score: |
100 |
75 |
50 |
25 |
0 |
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Comments: Business inspections are weak and often conducted on an ad hoc basis, often after a tragedy.
References: Media Reports (New Vision, Daily Monitor, June 2008 to August 2009)
Peer Review Comments: Business inspections by government officials to ensure public safety standards are inadequate and often expose the public to harm.
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