Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Private Sector Foundation Gideon Badagawa, has implored parliament to step up efforts in its oversight role following government’s failure at both planning and budgeting stages.
Appearing before parliamentary committee on national economy Badagawa said proposing for prioritization in Ugandan economy, government spends a lot of money in boosting agricultural yet there are areas which require mechanization for thriving of agricultural sector.
“The cohesion between farmers in Uganda is not very developmental and we intend to make it better by emphasizing specialization, if granted opportunity, we will contribute greatly to the development of the country in tax collection and tax creation,” he said at parliament.
He proposed that the linkages between industries and primary producers be strengthened, adding that this provides and widens market through backward and forward linkages.
Mr. further called for channeling of Youth Funds through private sector for proper monitoring after vigorous training.
However, committee chairperson Syda Bbumba rejected Badagawa’s proposals saying productivity of the private sector is lacking and almost stands no chance in the changing dynamic market, “you should focus on quality and productivity” she added.
“Multinational corporations are taking advantage of the loop holes in the legal systems in Uganda, the onus is on parliament to protect the private sector from outside competition because the private sector lacks capacity to borrow money from banks,” Mr. Badagawa said.
The committee argued that though there are challenges in mobilization of finances, there is a big problem of partnership where most private entities are not welcoming to partnerships with each other.
The committee observed that the private sector imports supplies instead of taking the due diligence to make these on their own.
Committee noted that many enterprises have come to parliament seeking funds but no accountability is usually provided adding that private sector is known for facilitating and encouraging corruption just to escape from taxes.
