Private sector leadership and a section of trade analysts want the Cabinet to ensure policies of commercial nature are properly implemented.

Mid-last week, the Cabinet approved the National Policy on Services Trade at State House Entebbe after four years of discussion.

Although passing of the policy is a step forward, the analysts say many other good policies are gathering dust on government shelves.

“The issue now is not the policy, but its implementation,” research analyst with the Economic Policy Research Centre Martin Luther Munu told Daily Monitor on Tuesday.

The policy, if implemented properly, will make it easy for people to trade in services without regulatory and legal hindraces that restrict them from trading freely.
Trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of an intangible product between a producer and consumer.

Employment avenue
According to statistics from the ministry of trade, services sector employs 45 per cent of the country’s population, an indication of the growing contribution of the sector, and need for the policy.

In her submission, Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde said the Cabinet endorsement will provide coordinated direction on policies, regulatory and institutional structures that are necessary to enhance the growing potential of the service sector.

The contribution of services to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has been consistently higher than Agriculture and Industry over the last eight years, making the service industry a major driver of the country’s economic growth.

Minister Kyambadde says trade in Services has increased significantly over the years, increasing from $4.21b (Shs15 trillion) in 2011 to $4.94b (Shs17.7 trillion) in 2015, equivalent to 17 per cent increase over the five year period.

Categories
Services are categorised into twelve core sectors namely; business, communications, construction and related engineering, distribution, educational, environmental, financial, health related and social services, tourism and travel related, recreational, cultural and sporting, and transport, and other services not included elsewhere.

Source: Daily monitor