President Yoweri Museveni has announced a raft of economic packages that he hopes will help jump-start economic sectors that have been hit hard by the #Covid-19 pandemic.
In a virtual State-of-the Nation address delivered from State House Entebbe to MPs converged at Parliament, President Museveni announced measures ranging from tax waivers, support on payment of utilities, payment of domestic arrears, restructuring of loan repayments and additional funding for the agriculture sector.
To turn around the fortunes of the Agriculture sector, the President said that Shs300 billion will be made available to boost production and productivity for seedlings, fertilisers, irrigation, storage facilities and value addition.
The target crops for this stimulus package will be coffee, cotton, tea, palm oil, cassava, maize, cocoa, dairy, and beef and fish production.
The President announced that corporations including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be allowed to delay payment of corporation tax or presumptive tax for taxes between April and June for the sectors of tourism, manufacturing, horticulture and horticulture.
Payment of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for the above sectors will also be deferred until September 2020 while the government will also expedite the payment of VAT refunds.
“For those unable to pay their loans, Government through the Bank of Uganda has already put in the gazette the measures to support businesses including allowing extension of repayment periods, postponement of loan repayment and relaxing the conditions for non-performing loans, “Mr Museveni announced.
Funding for the development of Kampala Industrial Business Park at Namanve and for power transmission and substations for Mbale, Byeyogerere, Kasese, Soroti, Luzira, Jinja and Mbarara Industrial parks will also be secured, the President declared.
Mr Museveni announced that the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) will be re-capitalised with Shs100 billion to invest in strategic areas.
Funding to the Uganda Institute of Industrial Research (UIRI) will be boosted to help it continue with innovation research and incubation of business start-ups.
