Hold government accountable for Budget- finance minister

Kampala- After presenting a Budget that reclaimed several exemptions and imposed taxes on most basic goods and services, the Finance minister has urged taxpayers to put the government under pressure to deliver on its Budget promises.

According to Ms Maria Kiwanuka, it is important that the civil society, private sector and the wider public refocuses their energies in tracking and holding the government accountable after the Budget.

Speaking last week, Ms Kiwanuka told an audience comprising of business association leaders, industry captains and business owners, attending the Private Sector Foundation post-Budget luncheon in Kampala, that reducing the cost of doing business can be achieved with their involvement in monitoring and tracking the Budget performance.

She said: “Follow your money just like you monitor your businesses,” adding: “You must treat government like part of your business and make sure it accounts for every penny and delivers on its targets as it stated.”

Earlier, in a similar post-Budget event organised by the tax and advisory firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (pwc), Ms Kiwanuka did not only ask the citizens to ensure that the Budget is properly enforcement, but also warned the 2014/15 Budget is indeed a tough one compared to the previous one.

“I agree that this is a tough budget because these are tough times. And to deliver we need coordination, cooperation and accountability—you must know what happened to the money (taxes),” Ms Kiwanuka said.

In his presentation, Mr Francis Kamulegeya, the pwc senior partner, said the Budget contains ambitious targets which will inevitably impact on everybody, although with the necessary coordination and cooperation, he believes the budget targets can be achieved.

He said: “We expect growth to accelerate in new the financial year, driven by increased investment in public infrastructure development, fast growing consumer segment, and growth in agriculture productivity.

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