Ministry of finance and economic planning Archives

Feb132021 by Abel kawereNo Comments

Why Taxes on Bank Withdrawals is Good News

This week, a proposal was brought to tax bank withdrawals as a means of generating revenue that will help our leaders get motivated to sacrifice for this country. You know it's bad for a farmer to keep milking a cow that she doesn't feed. It's not good for the citizens to keep milking their leaders asking for services yet the leaders are not given enough facilitation to make them happy so that they can deliver those services. Imagine we now have 519 MPs, for them to execute their duties well, they need comfortable vehicles which can manage the poteholed roads that Ugandans have failed to work on. These vehicles will cost 320 million each, meaning that we need 166bn for that purpose. On top of that each MP has been getting an average of 30 million per month, this money is very little...

Oct142020 by Abel kawereNo Comments

Dr Ddamulira Eats Big As He Scoops Top Job At Min. Of Finance

FEATURED, NEWS

By Our Reporter Renowned Kampala economist Dr. Edward Ddamulira Ssengonzi is literally smiling from ear after he was appointed to one of the top offices at the Ministry of Finance. This website has learnt that Ddamulira is in jubilation mood following his appointment as the Under Secretary Accounting Officer for the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development. Ddamulira comes in to replace Betty Kasimbazi, who retired last month after serving in that capacity for many years. Prior to her retirement, Kasimbazi had had a tough experience with parliament committees of finance and Public Accounts Committee after she on several occasions had snags in explaining questionable expenditures within the ministry. Before his new appointment, Dr. Ddamulira had been working a...

Oct12020 by Our ReporterNo Comments

The Government of Uganda Recognizes the Importance of its Tourism Industry

FEATURED, NEWS, Tourism

The Government of Uganda recognizes the importance of its tourism industry. Uganda is known around the world for its natural beauty, its variety of attractions, its historic villages, and its wildlife. The Uganda tourism industry not only is a major economic development tool but it also is a major component in Uganda’s quality of life. Uganda can take great pride in that many of its public officials are tourism-sensitive. They understand the importance of tourism and how tourism impacts the nation’s reputation and standing not only in tourism but also in the world. In today’s world dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, both local citizens and visitors throughout the world demand safety and security implemented by well-trained professionals. The traveling public understands the rel...

Sep222020 by Abel kawereNo Comments

StanChart Goes Digital, is Closing its Branches in Uganda.

Business, FEATURED, Latest News, TECH

Standard Chartered Bank has announced that it is in advanced stages of transforming into a fully digital bank and has since gradually started the process of closing most of its branches in Uganda. The transition means that StanChart customers will have to rely on the SC Mobile App, Online Banking Platform, Digital Banking units, Agent Banking, Cash Deposit Machines and increasing the ATM network for all their banking needs. The bank has already published a memo communicating to customers and issued them the requisite 30 days’ notice with plans to close most of its branches on 31st October 2020. However, the bank will maintain a 3-branch model aligned to serve its client segmentations i.e Lugogo Branch for the Affluent clients, City branch for Business Banking Clients and Sp...

Sep102020 by Our ReporterNo Comments

Ugandan Schools to Re-open, Date for UNEB Exams Set.

Education, FEATURED, NEWS

All indications are that a dead year will not be declared, schools will reopen later this month, and national exams usually set by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) in November and December, will go ahead, in March 2021. According to a letter recently written by the Minister of Education Janet Kataha Museveni to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija seeking the release of capitation grants to schools, the focus will be on candidate classes to resume, for what would be a second term, on September 20, this year. Education authorities have therefore revised the Academic Year schedule to allow students to report for the ‘second term of school this month’, as part of the phased reopening of educational institutions across the country. The Academic Year was prematurely cut short o...

Aug252020 by Our ReporterNo Comments

Uganda embassy staff plot to steal cash on zoom

FEATURED, NEWS, Politics

Diplomatic staff at the Uganda embassy in Denmark convened a Zoom meeting and discussed how to share government money they were not able to spend during the 2019/20 financial year that ended in June. An audio clip of proceedings of the meeting shows how the diplomats at the embassy in Copenhagen sat with their junior staff and agreed to share the money. At the end of each financial year, government institutions are required by law to return all unused balances to the Treasury in Kampala. Section 17 (2) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 2005 stipulates: “A vote that does not expend money appropriated to it for the financial year shall at the close of the financial year, repay the money to the Consolidated Fund.” A source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confir...

Aug252020 by Our ReporterNo Comments

Uganda ‘not interested’ in another virus lockdown

Business, FEATURED, NEWS

Ministry of Health confirms 97 new COVID-19 cases, pushing caseload to 2,263 Uganda has announced it is "not interested" in a new lockdown despite a recent spike in coronavirus infections. “As government, we are not interested in another lockdown because people’s lives are obviously affected,” NTV-Uganda quoted information minister Judith Nabakooba as saying in a video report on Sunday. The remarks came two days after Minister for Kampala Betty Amongi issued an ultimatum to Kampala residents to comply with the SOPs else recommendations proposing a lockdown will be forwarded to President Yoweri Museveni. A lockdown was imposed in Uganda by the end of March. Masks became mandatory in public in May while restrictions started to ease in July. The Ministry of Health confirmed ...

Aug252020 by Our ReporterNo Comments

Ministry of Finance staff test positive for Covid-19.

FEATURED, Latest News, Politics

The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has asked its security to ensure that all uninvited visitors present Covid-19 certificates before accessing the premises. This is after 21 of their staff tested positive for Covid-19 following a testing exercise between August 19 and 21. Mr Keith Muhakanizi, the permanent secretary, yesterday said the ministry will continue to undertake meetings using online platforms and that the public should avoid unnecessary visits to the offices. Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Kampala. “Interim results have indicated that at least 21 positive cases so far have been identified. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, we have contacted all staff and placed them under medical care. Their immediate close contacts will be subje...

Aug152020 by Our ReporterNo Comments

Bank of Uganda Names Banks with Lowest Interest Rates.

Business, FEATURED, NEWS

By Keefa Nuwahereza Bank of Uganda has named commercial banks charged borrowers lowest rates between January and June 2020, effectively making them the cheapest lenders for debtors to run to. Absa bank, Baroda, Bank of India, Citibank, Ecobank, NC Bank, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, United Bank of Africa, and Exim Bank kept their lending rates below industry average in the first six months of the year according to the Bank of Uganda’s monetary policy report for August 2020. In January 2020, the industry average lending rates were at 20.06 percent and it had dropped to 17.2 percent in June. Citibank had the cheapest rate consistently below 15 percent. However, Citibank doesn’t lend to individual customers. Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic bank also had lower rates ...