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Govt intervention to curb rising commodity prices

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija during national budget reading at Kololo ceremonial grounds in Kampala on June 14, 2022. PHOTO/ DAVID LUBOWA

Finance Minister Mr Matia Kasaija on Tuesday listed six measures that government intends to and/or has already undertaken to cushion vulnerable Ugandans against the skyrocketing commodity prices in the country. 

The minister reiterated that supporting farmers to grow more fast-maturing food and oil seeds  to ensure sufficient domestic supply; maintaining a market-based determination of prices to support a continuous supply of the goods and services intended to ensure that demand does not outstrip supply; expediting improvement of alternative fuel import routes  across Lake Victoria to avoid possible unnecessary supply disruptions and using appropriate fiscal and monetary policies to  mitigate  the impact of price shocks are some of the long term and short term measures government has undertaken to curb the rising commodity prices.

Others are construction additional fuel storage infrastructure in the medium term, and stock them adequately as well as expediting commercial oil production and development of the oil refinery.
“Government cannot influence price levels whose changes are driven by external shocks that are outside its control. We will therefore not be applying measures which can lead to long-term and painful distortions in the economy. For example persistent shortages of goods, hoarding, and black markets,” Mr Kasaija reiterated in his budget speech for the 2022/ 2023 financial year.