Kadaga unhappy with Uganda’s negotiators, slow pace to regional currency

What the report says

Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and East African Community Affairs Minister, Rebecca Kadaga, has criticized the country’s negotiators, saying poor decisions in debt, trade and investment talks have left Uganda with agreements that disadvantage national interests. Speaking in Kampala at an event marking 30 years of SEATINI Uganda, she argued that some officials may not fully understand the deals they sign and urged the government to build a stronger pool of skilled negotiators.

Kadaga also pressed for faster progress toward an East African single currency, saying the regional process is moving too slowly because of bureaucracy and the need to align monetary policies across the eight-member bloc. The article says she prefers a more flexible approach similar to the European Union’s path to the euro, rather than waiting for all member states to meet every target at the same time. The EAC monetary affairs committee last week set 2031 as the new deadline for the common currency.

The single currency is intended to ease cross-border trade and reduce the cost of currency conversion, according to the report. Kadaga also called for quicker removal of trade barriers. The event also featured remarks from economist Ezra Suruma, SEATINI’s Jane Nalunga, and London School of Economics scholar David Luke, who each discussed regional integration, Africa’s policy capacity and the changing global trade environment.