Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has urged the European Union Parliament to expedite the process of removing Uganda from its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing grey list.
Uganda has been on the list since 2016. Tayebwa made the request while meeting the Deputy President of the European Union Parliament, Antonella Sberna in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday.
Over the years, Uganda has amended several laws to meet the delisting requirements. The most recent amendment was made this month to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, which now excludes non-governmental organizations (NGOs), churches, and other charitable organizations from the list of accountable entities.
“Parliament, for the first time, amended seven laws in two weeks because we were rushing to meet the requirements,” Tayebwa told his EU Parliament counterpart.
While the EU Commission’s department overseeing anti-money laundering issues acknowledges that Uganda has met the necessary requirements, only the EU Parliament has the authority to officially delist the country. The EU considers the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list when creating its own. Uganda was removed from the FATF grey list in February last year, but remains on the EU’s list.
Uganda’s delisting requires the passage of a resolution by the EU Parliament.
However, the resolution includes six countries, only four of which have met the delisting requirements.
“The European Union Commission has indicated its support for splitting the resolution so that the four compliant countries can be removed. We can not continue paying for the sins of those who have not complied. However, we were informed that the European Parliament rejected this proposal,” Tayebwa said during the meeting.
He added: “Madam President, I have a specific request for you—to push the European Parliament to split the resolution so that countries that have complied can be removed from the grey list.”
Tayebwa explained that being on the grey list negatively impacts trade and investment. Uganda currently has a trade surplus with the EU, which stood at $130.67 million (UGX 478 billion) in 2024. He noted that during a recent meeting, EU investors and ambassadors told President Museveni that delisting Uganda would allow them to access cheaper and more attractive funding to invest in Uganda.
Paul Omara, the Otuke County legislator, who was part of the delegation, highlighted that Uganda’s presence on the grey list affects its credit rating by agencies such as Moody’s, making it harder to access credit from multilateral organizations and global banks.
“Uganda will only be able to access credit at higher interest rates,” he explained.
Uganda’s Ambassador to Belgium, Mirjam Blaak, echoed similar concerns, stating that investors have repeatedly urged her to push for Uganda’s delisting.
“I have met companies interested in Uganda’s tourism sector, but they say, banks refuse to provide guarantees because Uganda is still on the grey list,” she explained.
Caution on EUDR
During the discussion, Tayebwa also called for further scrutiny of the Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), a law designed to ensure that products entering EU markets do not contribute to deforestation anywhere in the world. He argued that in Uganda and other developing countries, the law could disproportionately harm the poorest communities.
For instance, the European Union is the main market for Uganda’s coffee, which is primarily produced by smallholder farmers.
“This law will severely impact small-scale farmers in Uganda and Africa. Such non-tariff barriers will hit the poorest of the poor the hardest,” Tayebwa said.
