The Crane Bank has an outstanding debt of seven billion shillings, accruing from unremitted contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

According to a ‘comprehensive audit’ by agents of the NSSF, the said money described as ‘Standard Contribution’ was to be paid in the period between January 2010 and 2016.

The media had reported today that Crane Bank had an outstanding Shs32 billion it owes NSSF as contribution for its former workers.

Other costs in the comprehensive audit that Crane bank allegedly owes NSSF include: Special Contribution of Shs930, 737, 042; Penalty Shs38, 846, 019, 750 and Interest of Shs4, 543, 264, 843, bringing the total amount to Shs52, 910, 054, 024.

The Crane Bank was majorly owned by businessman Sudhir Ruparelia, but was early this year sold off to dfcu after the Bank of Uganda (BOU) sanctioned the deal.

Since then the BOU and other creditors including have sought to recover the monies owed to their institutions, with Mr. Ruparelia now reportedly in talks to amicably resolve the discrepancies.

Efforts to contact Mr. Ruparelia for comment on the matter were fruitless by press time.

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The Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Frank Tumwebaze has written to Airtel Uganda over the firing all of its local engineers who have instead been replaced with expatriates.

In a letter dated July 14, 2017, Tumwebaze says his office had received several complaints suggesting that Airtel Uganda has outsourced the entire Engineering Department works, rendering the Ugandan engineers jobless.

“I would like, therefore, to establish if the terms and conditions of licensing do not have a requirement to maintain local content specifically for local professionals. If this is lacking in our policy and regulatory framework, please advise on the necessary interventions,” the Minister wrote.

By press time efforts to get a comment from the management of Airtel were fruitless.

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Uganda’s new pension reform which partly wants to pay savers monthly will help retirees avoid sinking into old age poverty a few years into retirement due to unwise investments undertaken, Isaac Sekitoleko, the Research and Market Development Officer at Capital Markets Authority (CMA), has said.

According to Sekitoleko, the new pension reforms introduce the aspect of receiving a portion of savings made during active employment as a lump-sum, with the remaining savings paid out monthly as a pension into perpetuity.
He adds that the increased competition among pension fund managers is expected to lower administration costs and earn savers higher investment returns.

“With a pension regulator already in place to oversee the safety of members’ savings …savers should be allowed to choose their preferred fund managers,” Sekitoleko says, adding that new innovative ways of tapping into the unserved populace in Uganda’s pension industry will bring in more savers faster than when the sector is operated by one entity.

“One only has to recall how the liberalization of the telecommunications industry led to increased competition, improved service delivery, and the introduction of innovative products like mobile money which has significantly increased financial inclusion levels in Uganda,” he says.

Sekitoleko adds that new and innovative pension funds, coupled with the proliferation of mobile money, will spur an increase in the number of Ugandans saving for retirement. This, he says will ultimately save millions of Ugandans from the dilemma of old age poverty.
The 2014 national census results indicate that Uganda has a labour force of 16 million people. By the end of 2015, only 757,179 Ugandans were actively saving with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) – a mandatory savings scheme for all employees in full time employment other than civil servants.

The 2015 estimates indicate that there were 307,000 active civil servants and this, coupled with the active NSSF savers, translates into slightly over one million Ugandans having some form of retirement benefit.

“This means that only about 6% of Uganda’s labor force is actively saving for retirement, the rest face the risk of old age poverty,” he warns.
The NSSF Act requires formal sector employers with five or more employees to pay mandatory NSSF contributions for their employees. However, this provision has been excluding most Ugandans employed in the informal sector or those working for small firms, prompting the NSSF to introduce the Voluntary Membership Scheme.
The proposed pension reforms, whose bill awaits parliament’s approval, are geared at having all workers and employers in both the formal and informal sector contribute to pension schemes of their choice.

The reforms will enable more pension service providers to operate within Uganda and tap into the wide market.
The NSSF has already a scheme for voluntary monthly contributions, targeting workers employed boda boda riders, barbers, farmers, mechanics and welders among others.

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Prices of Irish Potatoes have fallen sharply in the eastern region, a kilogramme trading at an average price of Shs900 on wholesale and Shs1050 on retail, the latest market report shows.

The ‘Commodity Market Analysis Report’ attributes the low price of Irish Potatoes in the region to increased supply of the same in the markets, with supplies coming mainly from Mbale and Kapchorwa districts.

The central region which includes Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono, registered the second lowest average per kilogramme of Irish Potatoes, selling at Shs1200 for  wholesale and Shs1500 on retail.

Western region registered an average of Shs1300 on wholesale and Shs 1550 on retail while Northern region registered the highest price at an average of Shs 1800 on wholesale and Shs2000 on retail.

Reports indicate that the reason for the high price of Irish Potatoes in the northern region was mainly because most of the people there consume other foods like millet, sorghum, maize flour among others.

Meanwhile, the average price of a bunch of Matooke shot up by Shs3000 and Shs4000 on wholesale and retail respectively, the report shows.

The report attributes the rise in the price of bananas to low supply of the commodity in the markets. Uganda’s markets, mostly those in the city get their Matooke supplies mainly from the western region of the country.

Kalerwe market that is located in the east of Kampala and is known for offering cheap foodstuffs, registered an increase in the price a bunch of Matooke at an average of Shs1000 on wholesale and Shs2000 on retail.

Meanwhile, the report it is anticipated that the prices of foodstuffs will drop in a few weeks’ time.

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