Operators of ailing businesses asked to seek help

MBARARA. Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) officials have challenged people running ailing businesses and companies due to bankruptcy to seek support.
The Board of Directors chairperson, Mr Francis Butagira, said they have a mandate and capacity to save businesses and companies that are collapsing.

He was speaking during customer service week organised to sensitise the public on the services in Mbarara on Sunday.
“When you are unable to run your company or business because you are broke, in most cases they bury you. But at URSB, we say ‘let’s try to resuscitate and put you on your feet’. Ailing companies come to URSB, we shall resuscitate you,” Mr Butagira said.

He added that UTL had been written off as dead and some government officials wanted it buried but the hand of URSB has revived it.
“Under our mandate of insolvency, we were given responsibility to see whether we can bring it up and it has come up, soon we shall hand over a healthy company,” he said.

Mr Butagira added: “This is important for you as businessmen, some businesses are failing but I say ‘go to our offices and see whether you can be helped and be put back on your feet.”
He further said registration of businesses and companies is now very fast with the establishment of four regional offices.
Mr Butagira added that more offices will be opened to take services nearer to the people.

“Bringing offices to regions has helped to reduce costs of going to Kampala. It used to take weeks and months to register a company. As I speak now, it takes two hours or less than an hour to register a business. URSB has contributed to the ease of doing business as far as investors are concerned,” Mr Butagira said.
Ms Caroline Nigesa, the Board Secretary at URSB, asked the public to register their churches, mosques, civil and traditional marriages with the agency so that they are not inconvenienced when securing loans in banks and going out of the country.

“We implore the public that once you go to a faith based organisations or church, ensure that the marriage return is filed with URSB. It is very important to register with URSB because then you have evidence that you are on marriage register. This evidence will be used by various stakeholders when time comes,” Ms Nigesa said.

She added that for married couples, embassies and visa offices ask for the evidence and they normally cross check with URSB.
Seventh Day Adventist Church Bishop in Southwestern Uganda Benard Bampata Kakuru said they had a notion that wedding couples was enough evidence of marriage until they interfaced with URSB.
“URSB told us that every church that conducts marriages has to be registered with government through the agency. So many churches have been registered, our pastors are now filing marriage returns with URSB,” Bishop Bampata said.

[email protected]