Finance committee to review Cipla MoU with Kenya
Mr Katongole Emmanuel, the executive chairman Cipla Quality Chemicals. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- It was stated by Mr Adnan Mohammed, the minister of trade in Kenya, that the stall in procurement of drugs from Cipla quality chemicals was caused by alteration of name from Quality chemicals to Cipla quality chemicals without communication to the Kenyan government.
KAMPALA. Upon learning that up to today, the 2015 Memorandum of Association (MoU) between Cipla Quality Chemicals and the Kenyan government has not taken effect, the parliamentary committee on finance, planning and economic development has pledged its support in investigating the matter.
The committee comprising different Members of Parliament was on a fact-finding mission in Uganda’s Industrial parks, when the executive chairman Cipla Quality chemicals asked that government helps the company get market to boost its growth.
“Government has done a lot because now power is regular, cost of finance is also low however I think the challenge now is access to more markets. Since the biggest consumer of medicine is government and not private sector, we are asking that they open even more markets for us to supply,” Mr Katongole Emmanuel, the executive chairman Cipla Quality Chemicals, urged.
He went on to say that the company’s capacity has increased, boosting its supply to a vast number of countries in Africa including Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi among others.
In response to the executive chairman’s plea, the finance committee said investment is paramount to the development of the country as it surrounds key areas that determine target achievement for Uganda.
“Normally when government makes commitments and does not fulfil them, it is the mandate of parliament to come in and ask why.
It is today that we have learnt of it, it had not come to our notice as parliament but since it has come, I feel this is the matter we shall take up and see what extent we can task government to fulfill its commitments in the MoU,” chairperson of the finance committee Rubanda East Member of Parliament Henry Musasizi said.
However, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives during the United Nations conference on trade and development 2016 held talks with Kenya counterpart to determine the root cause of the lack of implementation of the MoU.
It was stated by Mr Adnan Mohammed, the minister of trade in Kenya, that the stall in procurement of drugs from Cipla quality chemicals was caused by alteration of name from Quality chemicals to Cipla quality chemicals without communication to the Kenyan government.
Mr Mohammed further blamed the inflated price of drugs from then Quality Chemicals saying they were too high (25 -30 per cent above minimum price) making them noncompetitive.
