Uganda to review ban on import of used electronics

Uganda is reconsidering its ban on the importation of used electronics following complaints from traders and other stakeholders over the indiscriminate nature of the policy.

State Minister for Trade Tourism and Industry Gagawala Wambuzi told The EastAfrican that they were adopting a more targeted approach to the implementation of the ban to focus on technology that is harmful to the environment instead of uniform application to all secondhand goods.

“The issue here is not that all secondhand goods are bad but that we want to phase out those that are harmful to the environment. For example, there are brand new items that are more harmful than some used items. In a nutshell, the point is not the age of an item but the technology that it is using,” he said

In her last budget speech, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Syda Bbumba banned the importation of all used computers, freezers, fridges and television sets with effect from June 1, 2009 but the deadline for traders to clear their stock was twice shifted after they protested the decision.

The deadline was extended from the October 1, 2009 to March 31 this year.

In justifying the ban, the minister had said, “We either safeguard our environment or pay an immense price in the future.”

However, the minister’s pronouncement attracted criticism from various stakeholders who called it unrealistic since it did not specify the technology but the age of the items to be banned.

Dealers’ cry

Dealers in reconditioned electronics had asked the government to review the ban.

According to Mr Wambuzi, the government will establish new criteria to phase out the old technology that is a danger to the environment.

“If we are to safeguard the environment as we intend to, we should look at the technology of the item and not whether the item has been used. For example, some new items from countries like India and Pakistan are more environmentally harmful than some used items from the UK,” he added.

Uganda was the first country in East Africa to ban the importation of secondhand electronics.

Kenya imposed a 25 per cent value added tax on all the reconditioned computers.

Stakeholders in the ICT industry criticised the ban, saying that it was going to lock out the majority of people from accessing ICT services since they could not afford brand new computers.

A brand new computer on the Ugandan market, for example, costs about Ush2,3750,00 ($1,250) while a reconditioned one goes for Ush350,000 ($184).