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URA collects more than planned revenue in February

By
George Mangula
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The Performance of the Economy Report for February shows that the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) collected taxes worth Shs1, 125.0b against a target of Shs1, 123.6b.

The more-than-targeted revenue was attributed to international trade which saw taxes collected rise above target by Shs42.7 billion (8.8 percent). “This overage in collections on international trade taxes more than offset shortfalls in domestic taxes,” says the report.

According to the report, indirect domestic taxes were short of their target for the month by Shs 41.2b as value added tax (VAT) especially on manufactured products, services and construction among other sub sectors came out low than expected.

On the other hand, direct domestic taxes for February also registered a shortage of Shs4.1b, most of which resulted from withholding tax and rental income tax items.

On a positive note, the report says, corporate tax and tax on bank interest registered surpluses, although these were more than offset by the shortages in the categories discussed above.

Meanwhile, non-tax revenues to government amounted to Shs35.9b against a target of Shs 25.5b. The report attributed the good performance to the improved efficiency in collections following the transfer of the responsibility to collect all nontax revenue on behalf of Government from MDAs to URA.

Govt spending

Total Government spending during February amounted to Shs1, 337.0b against Shs1, 413.7b, which translates to a performance of 94.6 percent or Shs76.7b.The report attributes the performance largely to development spending, which underperformed at only 61.7 percent against the projection for the month.

According g to the report, development spending totaled to Shs399.6b against a projection of Shs647.4b and was attributed to low execution of a number of projects.

Projection execution was affected by lengthy procurement process, which delayed the start of some road infrastructure projects; including Kigumba-Masindi-Hoima Road Project, Rwenkunye-Apac Road Project, and Muyembe–Nakapiripit Road Project.

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FIFA appoints 36 referees for World Cup duty

By
Steven F Mandu
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FAILED: Ugandan Referee Mark Sonko failed to make the FIFA World Cup 2018 cut

FIFA has named 36 referees from 46 different countries to officiate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, with six of them coming from the African continent.

Ugandan FIFA referee Mark Ssonko was among the 17 officials CAF had shortlisted among those nominated to officiate at the 2018 World Cup in Russia but he failed to make the cut.

Range Marwa from Kenya, Burundi’s Jean Claude Birumushahu and Sudan’s Ahmed Wareed were selected as assistant referees from the East African region, for the World Cup in which England will be without a refereeing representative for the first time in 80 years.

Preparations for appointing the referees kicked off in September 2014 not only for the 32 participating teams. FIFA based on each referee’s skills and personality, as well as his level of understanding of football and ability to read both the game and the various tactics employed by teams.

Between now and the World Cup in June, the selected referees, assistant referees and Video Assistant Referees will be monitored and supported by FIFA Refereeing on an individual basis to ensure they are fully prepared.

The World Cup will take place in Russia between June 14th to July 15th. Africa will be represented by Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco and Tunisia.

Meanwhile, Ali Tomusange remains the only Ugandan referee to officiate at the World Cup, having officiated four games at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Before Tomusange, Keith Bukenya was the first Ugandan to be selected to officiate at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, but he died a few months to the opening ceremony.

 

The 2018 Referees: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy), Damir Skomina (Slovenia), Clément Turpin (France), Felix Brych (Germany), Çakır (Turkey), Sergei Karasev (Russia), Norbert Hauata (Tahiti), Matthew Conger (New Zealand), Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay), Andrés Cunha (Uruguay), Néstor Pitana (Argentina), Sandro Ricci (Brazil), Wilmar Roldán (Colombia), Julio Bascuñán (Chile), Mark Geiger (United States), Jair Marrufo (United States), Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica), John Pitti (Panama), César Arturo Ramos (Mexico), Joel Aguilar (El Salvador), Malang Diedhiou (Senegal), Bakary Gassama (Gambia), Gehad Grisha (Egypt), Janny Sikazwe (Zambia), Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia), Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria), Alireza Faghani (Iran), Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan), Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates), Ryuji Sato (Japan), Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain), Alireza Faghani (Iran), Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan), Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates), Ryuji Sato (Japan) and Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia).

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Archbishop Ntagali sends Easter message, implores Ugandans to embrace Jesus

By
Steven F Mandu
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SENT EASTER MESSAGE: Archbishop of Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali

The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali has called upon Ugandans to turn to Christ in exchange for eternal life.

The Archbishop was delivering his Easter message at his provisional office at Namirembe before he joined other Christians in ‘Carrying the Cross’ to symbolize the suffering of Jesus Christ.

“The message of Easter is that if you want to have eternal life, the only way is through Jesus. You must first renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil. You must renounce the ‘thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy …’ Rt. Rev. Ntagali told the Christians.

The Man of God condemned the rampant murders especially of women, witnessed in the recent past.

“I want to encourage all of us this Easter to reject the growing culture of death around us and, instead, promote a culture of life,” he said, adding: “We all know about the random killings that have been taking place, especially of women, and the delay in solving the mystery of who the killers are and bringing them to justice. The increasing number of deaths and the seeming inability to do anything about them is part of our current culture of death but this is not the way of Jesus.

He also castigated those advocating for the legalization of abortion, saying that it promotes the culture of meting out death to the most vulnerable among us, the unborn.

“When someone kills someone else just to steal a phone, what does that tell us about the value of life? It says that life is cheap but, actually, life is not cheap. Jesus died and rose again so that we could have life. Life is very costly,” the Archbishop stressed.

He also noted that the culture of death has taken root in South Sudan and many provinces in eastern Congo, creating a big impact on Uganda.

The Archbishop said in two months’ time, Uganda Martyrs Day will be commemorated at a special celebration in Namugongo on June 3, and he revealed that the Greater Kigezi Dioceses will organise of this year’s celebrations, with the committee co-chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda and his predecessor John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.

 

Archbishop Ntagali urged Christians to make a special effort to mobilise big numbers from their dioceses to participate in this year’s Martyrs’ Day celebrations, and also disclosed that there will be a health camp and other programs for children and youth.

 

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Kabaka congratulates Christians on completion of Lent

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi
Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi

Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi has congratulated Ugandans for completing the Lenten period, and asked them to reflect on their relation with God.

‘As we read in the Scriptures, the resurrection of Jesus offers us hope that we shall one day die and resurrect to eternal life in heaven. In this period we meditate about our lives and repent all our wrongdoings to strengthen the bond between us and the Almighty God,’ the Kabaka’s message reads in part.

The Kabaka also noted that cultural institutions had contributed in helping Ugandans develop their country, and was appreciative of the progress registered in the development of several projects such as ‘Twekobe’ in Mengo among other palaces.

“Income rate in the Kingdom is low therefore we shall insist on demanding for all our monies to finalise all our projects this year,” his message adds.

Meanwhile, a few days ago the Buganda Kingdom hosted delegates from Kikuyu Kingdom of Kenya in a bid to strengthen the bond between the two cultural institutions.

 

 

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Ruparelia Group franchises scoop top tourism industry awards

By
Steven F Mandu
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The Award for Ruparelia Group being received

The Ruparelia Group won an award of top tourism investor in Uganda during the just concluded Third Edition of Pearl of Africa Awards 2018 held in Kampala yesterday at the Pearl of Africa Hotel.

Ruparelia Group affiliate Speke Resort Munyonyo was voted Best Service/Luxury Standard Hotel while Victoria Café-emerged winner of Best Cuisine Restaurant.

An official announcing the handing over of the plaque

The three received their respective certificates to accompany the plaques for the work well done in promoting Uganda’s tourism industry.

The function was presided over by the Director of Tourism in the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities James Lutalo, who handed over the award of Best Service/ Luxury Standard Hotel.

Best Tourism Association award went to at Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UOHA).

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, re-known for mountain gorillas, won award of Best tourism destination in Uganda.

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US$41m bailout of Ugandan traders owed by South Sudan okayed

By
Steven F Mandu
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Syda Namirembe Bbumba, the head of the committee that compiled report

The Parliamentary Committee on National Economy has recommended for entry into a bilateral agreement between Uganda and South Sudan to pay monies owed to Ugandan traders amounting to over forty one million dollars.

In its report, the committee wants Uganda to pay the money to the verified traders under their umbrella organization, the Uganda Southern Sudan Grain Traders and Suppliers Association Limited and, according to the committee chaired by Nakaseke North MP Syda Bumba, the money is to be repaid by South Sudan within a five-year period ending December 2022.

On December 18, 2015, during a meeting in Juba, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GoRSS) proposed that Uganda pay the said sum with a view of reimbursement subject to terms of the bilateral agreement.

The list of Uganda verified traders includes Rubya Investments Limited, Kibungo Enterprises, Aponye (U) Limited, Afro Kai Ltd, Swift Commodities Establishment Ltd, Sunrise Commodities, Ms. Sophie Omari, Apo General Agencres, Ropani International and KK Transporters, with Aponye (U) Limited owed the highest sum of money to the tune of UD$13, 542, O92.61.

Meanwhile, the MPs also want Ugandan traders to insure their business engagements against various risks when participating in cross border trade.

“Informal business operators should register their business with Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and regularly file returns with URA; while at the same time enter into formal contracts with recipients of their goods and services,” the report emphasized.

Further, the government should partner with financial sector players to establish an Export Credit Guarantee Scheme for exporters to minimize financial risks associated with volatile export markets, the report adds.

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Reduce government borrowing, Parliament tells Finance, BoU

By
Geoffery Serugo
-
Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija with the briefcase that contains the Budget

The parliamentary committee on the national economy has implored key institutions involved in economic management to find means of reducing the country’s borrowing.

According to a report by the committee chaired by Nakaseke North County legislator Syda Bbumba Namirembe, the institutions like Bank of Uganda and the Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders should hold a conference focusing on building a resilient integrated and self-sustaining economy.

The committee also recommended the borrowing of Shs736 billion from the domestic market to finance the budget.

‘The proposed funds will be used to finance the on-going infrastructure projects whose certificates will fall due this financial year, statutory obligations such as wages and interest payment,’ the report reads in part.

The committee further advised government to increase sources of tax revenue through improvement of tax administration, widening the tax base and providing an environment that is conducive for growth of private enterprises.

Last year government approved a Shs 29.008 trillion budget for financial Year 2017/8 of which the government is expected to contribute Shs 21.175 trillion. Other sources include external financing of Shs7.075 trillion and Appropriation in Aid of Shs0 .757 trillion.

The report indicates that the country has registered shortfall in revenue collection of Shs 167 billion in this financial due to lower import, aggregate demand and tax exemption on husked rice.

 

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Reduced interest rates boost Stanbic Bank’s credit to private sector

By
George Mangula
-
Stanbic Bank Uganda

Stanbic Bank’s latest financial report shows that it gave Shs157b as loans, which was 80 percent of the net industry credit.

The bank in its report says the periodical reduction of its prime lending rate over the past few years helped boost the loan figures upwards, with the bank’s overall loan book growing by 8 percent to Shs 2.13 trillion up from Shs1.98 trillion.

Stanbic Bank CEO Patrick Mweheire said in Kampala two days ago that the 17.5 prime lending rate pegged on the CBR is one of the lowest that customers can enjoy in the country.

He said the bank had played a key role in supporting Uganda’s continued economic recovery. “Our balance sheet grew by over Shs 800b to Ushs 5.4trn,” he said, adding that that allowed it to support projects like infrastructure across the country.

The report shows Stanbic provided financial instruments worth one trillion shillings including Bank Guarantees, Letters of Credit and Bid Bonds to contractors, suppliers and executing government agencies.

According to the bank, customer deposits also grew by approximately 18 percent to Shs3.62 trillion from Shs 3.06trillion, representing 20 percent of all bank deposits in the country.

Net profit for the bank rose to Shs200b from Shs191b realised in 2016. That was reached at with the help of the reduction of operating expenses that fell to Shs15b year-on-year. Investments in the further integration of digital technology within product and services also contributed to a reduction in costs, the bank said.

Analysing the bank’s key performance indicators Sam Mwogeza the Chief Financial Officer said the bank improved across all key financial indicators during the period. “Our credit loss ratio was just 1.3 percent compared to 1.8 percent registered in 2016 and continues to be well below the industry average,” he said.

Meanwhile, the board has approved a dividend pay-out of Shs90b, an increase of 50 percent when compared to dividend shareholders received in 2016. Earnings per share climbed to Shs3.92 from Shs3.73 in 2016.
 

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Over 400 designs presented for new EAC logo

By
George Mangula
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Current Emblem of East African Community

 The East African Community (EAC) is set for logo change to accommodate new members and create harmony among various organs within the body.

The exercise which is expected to conclude in November saw youths between ages of 18-35 from member states submit 485 different designs for consideration.

“We have narrowed down to ten applicants and expect to forward the top three to the council of ministers for approval in an exercise we expect to come to conclude before the end of this year,” said Jessica Eriyo, EAC Deputy Secretary General, responsible for Productive and Social Sectors.

The current logo embodies original three EAC member countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania that into the arrangement during the times of presidents Milton Obote, Julius Nyerere and Jomo Kenyatta, father of Daniel Uhuru Kenyatta. The new logo is intended to include new entrants-Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, world’s youngest nation.

“Rebranding is important to enable the East Africa Community have a simple logo that can also be easily adopted in other organs of the body,” she said noting that the current logo has so many colours that needs to be replaced.

The EAC launched the rebranding competition in 2017 targeting to change its visual brand identity for eleven Organs and Institutions including the regional parliament and the court.

The council of ministers will consider the report of the top entrants in April 2018, where 438 proposed designs have been considered by regional brand experts.

The rebranding process aims to resolve among others the lack of a unique common identifier among the EAC organs and institutions, too many colours being used for the flag and logos, the EAC logo not being adaptable to the expansion of the community, two different visual identity symbols (the flag and the logo), lack of a visual brand connection between EAC Organs and Institutions.

A youth competition for designers and artists was launched in May 2017, and 438 entries were received by the EAC for consideration.

Dr. Kirsten Focken, GIZ – Programme Manager in a statement said that the German Government through GIZ supports the EAC rebranding, adding that the process would improve its brand awareness, visual identity and image among citizens, especially the youth.

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DFCU makes Shs127b abnormal profit in 2 years after Crane Bank takeover

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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The Former Crane Bank Ntinda branch, which DFCU took over and illegally rebranded in its name, was ordered by the court to vacate and compensate Meera Investments because the property belongs to Meera.

The latest financial statement for DFCU bank shows that it made a net profit of Shs127.6 billion as of December 31, 2017, up from Shs46.2 billion registered in the same period in 2016.
In August 2017, DFCU bank announced net profits of Shs114 billion for the first six months of that year, after acquiring Crane Bank with mainly all its assets, deposits and loans.
The bank noted then that the acquision of Crane Bank in January that year helped it reap Shs114 billion in profits from Sh23 billion earned in the same period the previous year. That was a huge percentage increase.
Further analysis of the profit scale shows that DFCU made Shs13.2 billion net profit in the second half of 2017, far less, when compared to the first half, even as the statement shows that year-on-year, the bank raised its net profit by Sh81.4 billion.
Meanwhile the non-performing loans (NPLs) for the year rose by Shs38.3 billion to Shs96.6 billion in 2017, up from Shs58.3 billion in 2016. The bank wrote off Shs27.2 billion as bad loans compared to Shs5 billion written off in 2016.
The bank’s credit to customers rose to Shs1.3 trillion in 2017, up from Shs834.8 billion in 2016.More, customer deposits rose to Shs1.98 trillion from Shs1.13 trillion received a year earlier. That was attributed partly to the acquision of Crane Bank.

dfcu financial analysis
The bank’s total assets increased to a record Shs3 trillion, up from Shs1.7 trillion in 2016, like explained the boost in assets was a result of the acquisition of its rival Crane Bank. There is a pending case in court where former owners of Crane Bank are seeking recovery of assets, more so fixed assets.
The statement shows that DFCU’s core capital increased to Shs362 billion in 2017, up from Shs188 billion in 2016.
The management has earmarked Shs51 billion for dividends compared to Shs18.5 billion in 2016, meaning each shareholder will more cash on account.
So who are the shareholders? Dfcu is partly owned by the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) a British government-owned company, together with other foreign firms like Rabo Development from the Netherlands and NorFinance from Norway who are shareholders in Arise B.V together with Norfund, a Norwegian government owned Private Equity firm and FMO, the Dutch Development Bank.
BoU transferred the liabilities (including deposits) of Crane Bank to DFCU Bank in 2017.
The leaked agreement between Bank of Uganda and DFCU indicated that the external owned bank got Crane Bank with assets valued at Shs1.3 trillion for just Shs200 billion (payment for liabilities).
The Agreement did not state the amounts of money paid by DFCU as a net purchase price; or the payment terms for monies, or the assets (outside branches) that DFCU was taking over.

DFCU Shareholding percentages

Arise BV 58.71 per cent
CDC Group of the United Kingdom 9.97 per cent
National Social Security Fund (Uganda) 7.69 per cent
Kimberlite Frontier Africa Naster Fund 6.15 per cent
2 undisclosed Institutional Investors 3.22 per cent
SSB-Conrad N. Hilton Foundation 0.98 per cent
Vanderbilt University 0.87 per cent
Blakeney Management 0.63 per cent
Bank of Uganda Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme 0.59 per cent
Retail investors 11.19 per cent
BoU staff retirement benefit scheme is 0.59 per cent

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