Focus on creating more jobs, Suruma tells government
Former Finance minister Ezra Suruma (R) with Kyamuswa County MP Tim Lwanga during a public dialogue on the Public Finance Management Bill, 2012, in Kampala on Monday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE.
What you need to know:
Former Finance minister says in major economies, services are more important than hardware.
KAMPALA
Dr Ezra Suruma, the former Finance minister, has asked government to prioritise job creation ahead of infrastructural projects. He said though government has already warmed up to the anticipated revenues from the sale of crude oil, “there is a fundamental gap in policy with regard to the deliberate use of oil revenues to create employment”.
“It is not just a matter of roads and power stations. Foreigners own most infrastructure companies; so by spending more on them, it means our money is being externalised. In the major economies, services are more important than hardware,” said Dr Suruma during a public dialogue on the Public Finance Management Bill, 2012 in Kampala on Monday.
One of the objectives of the Bill is to establish the principles and procedures for sound fiscal policy and macroeconomic management.
Mr Tim Lwanga, a member of the House Committee on the Budget, said the debate about how to best use the anticipated revenue from oil should be interpreted broadly. “Bearing in mind that infrastructure [development] drives [economic] growth, the [Budget] Committee agreed with the proposal to channel oil revenues to infrastructure, especially given the finite nature of oil,” said Mr Lwanga. “This should be interpreted beyond roads and dams.”
An estimated six in every 10 Ugandans aged between 18 and 30 is unemployed. That means they are dependent on their parents for survival.
A few others could be supporting themselves by being involved in criminal activities.
To mitigate unemployment, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development in April started the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP). Through YLP, government will spend Shs53b over the next five years on bankrolling income–generating projects initiated by the youth.
