The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party vice chairperson for central region, Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi, and the Deputy Secretary General, Rose Namayanja, have tasked party leaders from Mukono district to assist the government with manifesto implementation within their areas of jurisdiction to ensure service delivery among citizens during a meeting at the Colline Hotel in Mukono municipality

“We are the party in power. And so the manifesto is in place for us to implement. Face the public servants and ask them difficult questions concerning accountability,” Namayanja said.

She added that by doing so, the government would fulfill its pledges and promises, thereby improving people’s lives.

Namayanja said initiatives like the Parish Development Model and the Emyooga program aim to provide soft loans to people with small or medium enterprises to expand their businesses and reduce household poverty.

In terms of mobilizing support, the deputy secretary general urged party leaders to avoid threats in favor of persuading potential supporters while on a mission to reclaim victory in the central region. 

“Our strategy should be to explain the achievements of the NRM government over the years and the plans yet to be fulfilled,” she said.

Kiwanda called upon leaders to follow up on the proper utilization of district road funds that are used for maintenance. This will improve access roads, thereby facilitating quick transportation of goods to markets.

He asked the leaders to remain committed to supporting the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni, who for years has proven his capacity to steer the country forward.

The Vice Chairman cautioned leaders against disunity and intrigue and urged them to focus on building proper structures that will strengthen the ruling party.

The senior manager for communication and public relations, Mr. Rogers Mulindwa, advised the leaders to engage in the battle against propaganda and disinformation from the opposition supporters.

The district leaders thanked the senior party cadres for taking the initiative to resolve conflicts among the area leaders and pledged to work with the government to foster unity in the area and enhance service delivery.

The meeting followed Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja’s engagements in the region to assess government services.

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Parliament calls for sensitization of traders before the full implementation of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS).

The House chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa on Wednesday, 07 December 2022 adopted the report of the Committee on Tourism Trade and Industries recommending changes in the invoicing system.

According to the committee report presented by Chairperson, Mwine Mpaka, the implementation of the EFRIS by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in May 2020 was meant to improve business efficiency and reduce costs of compliance through improved record keeping among taxpayers

However, the committee observed that the system meant to  mitigate tax administration shortfalls is hurting traders.

“This system was supposed to be installed in trader’s premises under the instruction of a consultant so that all transactions can be reflected on the URA systems. URA informed the committee that they undertook several engagements with individual businesses and associations in preparation for the implementation,” Mwine Mpaka said.

The committee noted that although the system will help URA in tax collection, , traders  need to be sensitized since it involves costs of hiring extra staff to run it.

“The committee recommends that URA extends the implementation of the EFRIS by not less than one year during which period, it should invest in education, publicity, sensitization and offering of technical support to all traders to effectively implement and utilize the system,” Mpaka said.

He added that the system sometimes faces network challenges that affect the sale of goods.

Some MPs however, proposed that government should instead install the system for the Traders.

Nakawa East Member of Parliament, Ronald Balimwezo said that several businesses are struggling and government needs to support them by installing the EFRIS.

“To cure this, let government procure these machines and install them for the people otherwise, we need to do a lot in making sure that we increase the tax base,” he said.

Nakaseke Central  MP Allan Mayanja noted that the EFRIS machines are expensive to install and that URA has put a very high fine on people who do not have them.

The Minister of State for Finance Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi appealed to the members to support the EFRIS saying it will help in revenue collection.

Otuke County MP, Paul Omara equally supported the system saying the country is struggling with raising revenue. He however, said URA should take more time to educate people.

“I think this is one of the most innovative systems that URA has undertaken to broaden our tax base and to allow the loopholes in tax collection to be closed. I am a manufacturer and we have implemented this programme and we are doing well,” he said.

The committee also recommended that government establishes policies that limit discretion in the selection of companies receiving tax incentives and that it applies specific criteria for any company to become eligible for tax incentives in the Ugandan economy.

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The Minister for Works and Transportation, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala has urged regional and international air operators to consider Uganda Airlines as a partner and not a competitor saying working together with other operators can be good for the entire global aviation industry.

Katumba also called upon the public and all government agencies, ministries and departments to be supportive towards the newly revamped Uganda Airlines.

“To show this commitment, we all know that the Government decided to revive the Uganda Airlines. Despite all the challenges which are going through as an airline, despite the flaks we get. We rarely get thumbs up, most of the time we are being pulled down. But even with all that, the Government is determined to support the aviation industry and that is why we decided to revive the Uganda Airlines,” he said.

Katumba encouraged the public to be supportive of the Airline since it will be very helpful to the general public when it comes to connecting Uganda to the rest of the world.

“I normally tell people to look at the airline just like a highway because it is creating highways for you between Entebbe and Guangzhou, Dubai and other destinations for you to be able to do business in those places. We need to support the Airline because it is very crucial in the growth and development of Uganda,” he said.

He added: “One of the ways we can support our tourism industry is by supporting our aviation industry which now has the Uganda Airlines.”

The director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority, Fred Bamwesigye, announced the new routes are London, Guangzhou and Mumbai the Airline is yet to start taking.

“We have quite a number of routes that Uganda Airlines is set to start taking anytime soon. These include: Guangzhou, Mumbai and London among others,” he said.

Bamwesigye also said the Authority is working towards improving its non-aeronautical revenues which currently are way below the aeronautic revenue.

“We want to improve the non-aeronautical revenues. Currently, aeronautical revenues produce the most revenue which is 80% of the total revenue. We hope to change this to at least 50% each,” he said.

He said the Authority is also looking forward to expansion of the airport which he said will also help improve the non-aeronautical revenue since it will enable CAA to build recreation centres and hotels thus improving the non-aeronautical revenues.

The Uganda Airlines has severally been rocked by scandals ever since it was revamped. The company was rocked by infighting between the company’s first CEO, Cornwell Muleya and some of his subordinates which ended up in him losing his job.

It was also reported that politicians were also involved in lobbying for their inexperienced relatives to take on jobs in the Airline.

As if this was not enough, it was revealed that the Airline reported operating losses totaling sh498b across three fiscal years thanks in no small part to questionable contracts and transactions.

This sparked off a series of investigations by the parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) which ended up unearthing mismanagement concerns, poor allocation of funds and questions whether the current CEO, Jennifer Bamuturaki, qualifies for the job.

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