The Biden led USA government through its Departments of State, Labor, Health and Human Services, Commerce, and the U.S. Agency for International Development has issued another lengthy advisory it has called “Risks and Considerations for Businesses in Uganda” in which it tells American business not to invest in Uganda .
They also allege without evidence that most of Uganda’s commercial products and goods are produced while using child labour .
“The Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) maintains a list of goods and their source countries which it has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards, as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA) and subsequent reauthorizations.
“Uganda currently has 13 goods produced with child labor on the TVPRA list: bricks, cattle, charcoal, coffee, fish, gold, rice, sand, stones, sugarcane, tea, tobacco, and vanilla,” the USA “advisory” reads in part basically implying that all goods produced in Uganda shouldn’t be on the USA market.
“Businesses, organizations, and individuals should be aware of potential financial and reputational risks resulting from endemic corruption, described in more detail in the 2023 Investment Climate Statement, as well as violence against human rights activists, media members, health workers, members of minority groups, LGBTQI+ persons, and political opponents.
Uganda’s enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) on May 29, 2023, increases restrictions on human rights, to include restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and exacerbates issues regarding the respect for leases and employment contracts,” the document which was released yesterday and has been doing rounds on social media ,adds in part .
The USA officials further allege without specifics that there are risks associated with interference in and intimidation of the judiciary, use of influence in the courts to resolve political disputes, and co-opted security forces.
“Inconsistently implemented legislation, rent-seeking from officials, and intrusive government security and surveillance likewise can adversely impact the ability of U.S. businesses and individuals to operate. These actions may become more frequent in the lead up to the 2026 elections; similar patterns of violence and disregard for the rule of law occurred ahead of the 2021 and 2016 electoral processes,” they allege.
It further adds, “The enactment of the AHA expands these risks and creates additional opportunities for interference with business operations as it, among other things, mandates reporting of individuals suspected of homosexual behavior, imposes a life sentence for consensual same sex relations, and allows for a 20-year prison sentence for mere “promotion” of homosexuality, which is defined so broadly as to potentially cover a wide range of activities.
For example, there have been credible reports of landlords evicting private and commercial tenants based on the landlord’s unsubstantiated claim that there is activity taking place in violation of the AHA.
They go ahead to state that several goods imported from Uganda into the United States have also been tied to labor abuses, including those produced by child labor. The entire document keeps referencing to Uganda’s Homosexual law.
This latest economic attack on Uganda comes on the heels of recent suspension of World Bank Loans to Uganda again while protesting the enactment of the Homosexual Law which prohibits the promotion of homosexuality in Ugandan schools and communities by the lure of money from foreign donors among others.
The Uganda government led by President Yoiweri Museveni has come out to clearly state that the provisions of the country’s Anti Homosexual law doesn’t target the private life of homos but rather bars the open promotion and recruitment of children in schools at all levels to participate in homosexual activities .
Today while addressing the youth at Kololo Independence grounds , President Museveni advised Ugandans to look at the African market with over 1.3bn people to sell their good and products .
Uganda Airlines has launched a direct route to Lagos Nigeria effectively opening up to the west African markets .
Uganda is largely a conservative African traditional country that doesn’t subscribe to homosexuality . The Church of Uganda has since severed ties with the Anglican church of England for allowing homosexual marriages .
