By Naboth Isaac Niwagaba
apearlnews.com
A section of Civil Society organizations operating in Uganda have challenged the government to explain the detailed plan for repayment of loans borrowed previously to finance the National Budget.
The demand was made during the Kigezi Post Budget Engagement Dialogue organized by the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development and the Uganda Revenue Authority at Cephas Inn Kabale.
The Executive Director of Kick Corruption Out of Uganda (KICK-U), Mr. Kakuru Robert Byamugisha, made the presentation on behalf of CSOs including the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) Uganda, The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), and the Uganda Debt Network (UDN).
“On events like this, We expect the Ministry of Finance to explain how much the country is indebted and how the government is planning to clear the debts,” Kakuru said, adding that Citizens feel encouraged to know that they have a Government that borrows what it can repay to avoid bad debts.
The latest figures from the Paliamentary Budget Committee indicate that Uganda is chocking with a Debt of up to Ug. Shs. 80.5 trillion, which is almost double the National Budget for the Financial Year 2023-2024, which totals 52.7 trillion.
Kakuru also said that the civil Society Organizations were concerned about certain tax Policies that tend to favor large capital investors at the expense of low-income earners.
“For example, the tax exemptions usually favor the rich class, and it is the reason why some Ugandans hesitate to pay their taxes. They think that the rich, especially Government Officials or those that are well connected, do not pay taxes,” he said.
However, the URA Commissioner of Legal and Board Affairs, Patience Tusiime, explained that tax exemptions are a means of encouraging large capital and long-term investments, which in turn promote the creation of jobs for unemployed Ugandans. She noted that URA would hold more tax education dialogues to make Ugandans understand why they need to pay taxes, especially at a time when donor funding is set to reduce because of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Mr. John Muheirwoha, Commissioner of the Budget Policy and Evaluation Department at the Ministry of Finance, explained that the Budget Engagement Dialogues were meant to bring the National Budget closer to the people by breaking down the figures and answering questions in regard to the same. He said that the government was also planning to translate the budget into local languages if resources were available.
