The Uganda Pharmacy Owners Association, has rejected the proposed penalties to be imposed on individuals and corporate companies engaged in the illegal manufacture, distribution, importation, exportation and supply of drugs, medical devices, cosmetic products, public health products and nutritional supplements.The protest was led by Deo Kalikumutima, President, Uganda Pharmacy Owners Association, while appearing before Parliament’s Health Committee to submit the Association’s views on the National Drug and Health Products Authority Bill, 2025, on 24th September 2025, where he asked Parliament to lower penalties to be imposed on anyone involved in illegal cosmetics trade as proposed in clause 64.He noted, “Current proposals are excessive, given that cosmetics are lower-risk products. Suggested penalties: 2500 currency points (UGX50Million) for corporate bodies, 250 currency points (UGX5Million) for individuals, and imprisonment not exceeding five years.”The Pharmacy Owners also deemed the penalties proposed on illegal manufacture of drugs without a license in clause 22 as harsh, further adding clauses 23, 24, 26, 27, 34, 37, 41, 44. 45. 46, 47 & 48, whose penalties he deemed as excessive.“The intention is sound, but again, penalties are excessive. We propose maximum fines of UGX20Million for corporate bodies, UGX2Million for individuals. and Imprisonment not exceeding two years. Tanzania’s approach under Section 22(3) of Cap. 219 is a useful benchmark. Although indispensable for compliance and public protection, the penalties proposed under these clauses are disproportionately harsh. Parliament should revise the fines and sentences to align deterrence with Uganda’s economic and operational realities,” Kalikumutima added.The Association’s proposals are in reaction to the proposal in the National Drug and Health Products Authority Bill, 2025 where the Ministry of Health has proposed a 10year jail sentence to be imposed on any individual that manufactures or distributes illegal cosmetic products in Uganda, while those who import unauthorised cosmetics will be required to transport those products back to the countries of origin at their cost.Government is also seeking to criminalise the manufacture, import, export, distribute, supply or dispense a drug unless the drug is registered or notified by the Authority, stipulating in clause 21(8) that anyone that contravenes the requirement will be held liable on conviction (a) in case of a corporate body to a fine not exceeding three thousand currency points (UGX60Million), while in case of an individual, Government prescribed a fine not exceeding five hundred currency points (UGX10Million) or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.The Uganda Pharmacy Owners Association also wants Parliament to end the dual supervision of cosmetics products that is being handled by Uganda Bureau of Standards, saying that as opposed to the provisions in the Bill that classified cosmetics products that will be under the supervision of National Drug and Health Products Authority, instead, they want the Authority to take over the mandate to oversee the quality of all cosmetic products on Uganda’s market, instead of splitting supervision between NDA and UNBS.“It is going to be very difficult for either the suppliers, distributors and importers to start distinguishing cosmetic products that contain what they are mentioning here and those that don’t contain what isn’t being mentioned here. Our view is that if the Authority is going to license the cosmetics sector, let it be whole. We shouldn’t have ambiguity where UNBS is going to say that for us, we have a certain part of the cosmetics that we are handling, and the Authority saying, there is a certain part that we are handling. If they aren’t happy, then the entire cosmetics sector should be taken away from the entire Bill,” noted Kalikumutima.The proposal by Ministry of Health in clause 26 to provide modalities for importation of drugs for donation was rejected by Uganda Pharmacy Owners Association who urged Parliament not to allow cadres without specialized knowledge in drugs to handle restricted drugs, more so to manufacture them without supervision of experts (Pharmacists).Kalikumutima explained, “Sub section (5) causes even a bigger a problem where a nurse can manufacture without supervision by a pharmacist. This is very dangerous and this clause should be deleted. The ministry has even been allowing VHTs (Village Heath Teams), people without any medical knowledge to handle antibiotics. This has contributed greatly to Anti Microbial Resistance.”The post Pharmacy Owners Reject Tough Penalties On Illegal Manufacture, Supply of Drugs & Cosmetics appeared first on Business Focus.