Several liquor manufacturers have on Monday morning agreed to transform alcohol into sanitizers as a means of maximizing production and supply in Uganda.
The demand for hand sanitizers went up after it was internationally declared that countries encourage the use of sanitizers with an alcohol content above 60 percent to fight off the disease. Since then sanitizers have been on-demand with the prices skyrocketing in Uganda especially after a case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Uganda.
The manufacturers agreed to this during a meeting with the minister of state for investment Evelyn Anite.
They resolved to convert 7.3 million liters of alcohol into sanitizers to bridge the shortage.
Anite agreed on behalf of the government to give up Value Added Tax and Excise Duty on their operations in exchange for the offer.
Anite says “in order to deal with the shortage and exorbitant increment of hand sanitizers in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, alcohol and spirit manufacturers will get government support through VAT and excise duty waivers to enable them to maximize production.”
48 companies had applied for certification to make sanitizers besides Saraya and Go hi-tech which are already certified.
It will take Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) between 4-7 days to certify these companies, Anite said.
