BoU urged to establish currency centre in Lira City

LIRA, October 25, 2023 – The Director Chambers of Commerce for North and Eastern Uganda, Bosco Ogwang Edola has urged the Bank of Uganda [BOU] to help establish a currency center in Lira City, saying it would serve the Lango Sub-region better.

This was echoed during an engagement organised by BoU in Lira City that involved the political leadership and technical staff of the entire Lira.

Currently, BoU runs a currency technical centre housed at Stanbic Bank Lira Branch.

The central bank maintains branches and currency centres in various locations around the country, whose purpose is to store, process and monitor the supply of currency to the government and private financial institutions in the surrounding cities, towns, and villages.

According to Ogwang, the former BoU Governor, the late Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile promised to establish the currency centre in the then Lira Municipality in 2009.

“When the late Prof. Emmanuel Mutebile came to commission Bank of Baroda in Lira in 2009, we were promised that within three years, the construction of the BoU currency branch would begin but up to now nothing has been done, and yet we are number three in terms of revenue collection and you have established branches in the towns of Gulu, Mbarara, Masaka, Mbale, Kabale, Fort Portal, and Jinja,” Ogwang said.

Richard Max Cox Okello Orik, the Lira District LCV chairperson on his part asked the BoU Deputy Governor, Michael Atingi-Ego to fulfill the promise of his former boss Tumusiime-Mutebile to establish a currency centre in Lira City, saying it one of the busiest towns in Uganda.

“Lira is a commercial hub for Northern Uganda and I know that the volume of money coming in here is double compared to what goes to other districts, and I always see your bank [BoU] bringing money from Gulu and it will not be good when you continue doing that when there is available land for you [BoU]. Consider fulfilling the promise that was made,” Okello said.

In response, Atingi-Ego concurred with the fact that Lira City is a busy centre and promised to follow up on the matter, even though he added there are processes and procedures to be followed.

“Lira is a booming commercial hub in the region, and demand for Bank of Uganda services is paramount. However, there are processes that need to be followed, and we cannot commit ourselves to what has not been subjected to processes. On that note, we will first track the process and see what happens,” he said.

https://thecooperator.news/bou-appoints-eight-commercial-banks-as-primary-dealer-market-makers/

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