Opposition on what govt must do to deal with runaway prices
A Total Fuel Station on Jinja Road in Kampala retailing petrol at Shs5,020 in February. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- The Opposition suggests government should plan and allocate at least Shs77 billion to the Uganda National Oil Company.
The Opposition wing in Parliament has asked the government to consider waiving taxes levied on essential commodities so as to give inflation-weary consumers in Uganda some respite.
The government has specifically been advised to slash taxes levied on importation of raw materials used to manufacture goods. It has also been asked to scale down on the taxes placed on essential commodities imported into the country.
Princely price tags have recently been attached to essential commodities such as fuel (a litre of petrol breached the Shs5,000 mark), washing soap (which costs anywhere between Shs8,000 and Shs10,000), and cooking oil (a litre goes for Shs10,000).
The Opposition has in its alternative policy statement made clear its wish that the government ring-fences money in the 2022/2023 budget to decisively address the current fuel crisis.
The shadow Finance minister, Mr Muwanga Kivumbi, in a statement said while the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war has buffeted the Ugandan economy, sound fiscal policies can drag the country back from the brink.
“Government has to come in and bring a solution like a supplementary budget to address the fuel crisis in the country because it touches every part of the economy,” Karim Masaba, MP for Mbale Industrial Division also a member of the Finance Committee, said.
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Mr Kivumbi said the government should plan and allocate at least Shs77 billion to the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), which will, among others, be devoted towards stocking fuel in the next financial year.
Mr Dickson Kateshumbwa (Sheema Municipality, NRM), a former commissioner at Uganda Revenue Authority, recommended that the government embarks on immediate importation of key commodities so as to cushion Ugandans in the event that Kenya’s general elections foment chaos.
“Very soon they (Kenya) are going to prioritise the importation of fuel into the economy,” Mr Kateshumbwa predicted.
Junior Trade minister Harriet Ntabazi had earlier revealed that the government intends to scale up growth of oil palm and sunflower in areas such Kalangala. This, she reasoned, will provide a buffer of raw material for manufacturing cooking oil and soap. Ms Ntabazi was however asked by the House to also table immediate solutions.
Another junior Trade minister (industry), David Bahati also offered no short- term solutions after the government was invited to table another response on Thursday.
Mr Bahati put forward an import substitution strategy as the antidote to the runaway prices. Mr Kivumbi said the government’s position is “grossly lacking in substance and in detail.”
He added: “It borders on indifference and cynicism to the plight of our people…There are no immediate solutions at all”.
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